Undying Love
by Holly-SA-Cullen
Summary: When Edward left in New Moon, Bella finds out she's pregnant. But carrying a vampire's baby isn't going to be easy! What will she do? Will she survive? Will she ever see Edward again? SM Pregnancy - AU
1. Chapter 1

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**A/N Hi - I hope you enjoy this! This is my first proper story, so I hope you like it!**

**If you want me to continue, please review!**

**I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does! Although I do own all of my Twilight books and Dvd's ;-)**

**Thanks to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

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I was running through a forest. It was cold. It was wet. I seemed to be running forever.

It was getting dark, and I kept falling over. I was covered in mud. The branches whipped at my face as I brushed passed them.

I stumbled once more, and fell straight on my face. I couldn't get up, and I started screaming.

"Bells? Bells, honey?" Someone asked.

I woke with a start- my eyelids popping open wide – and gasped. I met eyes with Charlie. I instantly realised I must have been dreaming, although it seemed so real.

"Bells, are you alright?" Charlie asked.

"Hmm...Oh yeah, sorry. It was just a nightmare." I replied, a little groggy.

"A nightmare?" He seemed surprised.

"I wasn't screaming?"

"No, I was just coming to check you were alright, and to tell you I'm going to Billy's now."

"Oh, I thought you weren't going until 12 p.m.?" I asked, confused.

"I am, honey. It's 11:50 a.m.," he said. "Are you okay? Do you feel alright?"

11:50 a.m.? That means I've slept for more than 12 hours. Weird.

"Yeah, I'm fine dad. Have fun!" I tried to say as cheerfully as I could. I was shocked by how long I had slept, and also by the disturbing dream. It was so vivid.

"Bye, Bells," Charlie said before he walked out of my room and closed the door behind him.

Even though I'd been asleep for so long, I still felt so tired.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I immediately regretted it when I felt dizzy and had to sit down again.

But when I sat down, a sudden pain stabbed me in the stomach. I clamped my hand over my mouth and dashed to the bathroom.

After a few minutes of being violently sick in the toilet, I rested my head against the bathtub.

It had been 14 days since he left me. I was a fool to think he loved me, even that one night before my birthday, when he let down all of his boundaries. To think, everything he said, every kiss, every touch, was a lie.

I started to get up and walk towards the bathroom cabinet to try and find something to take away the dizziness and sickness.

I opened the cabinet and had a look around. At the back I found a little blue box which made me grab the sink for support.

I pulled out the box of tampons, held them in my hand, and just stared at them.

I started counting back in my head. My period was five days late.

No, this couldn't be! I couldn't be...I couldn't even think the word.

"No..." I whispered.

I dropped the box in the sink, and pulled up my t-shirt to reveal my stomach.

Right there, in between my hips, was a small, but defined bump.

I touched it with my hand. It was hard, but as soon as I touched it, I felt something move inside me.

This couldn't be right, the only person I had ever "done it" with, was a vampire for goodness sake!

Vampires couldn't have children, could they? We never really talked about it.

Maybe they could?

This meant I couldn't stay here. This baby was growing far too quickly, and it obviously wasn't human. What would that mean? My baby would drink blood? I mentally cringed.

I loved this baby, although I was half scared to death. Almost as if the baby could read my mind, I felt another little nudge in my stomach.

"It's okay, baby," I whispered. My little nudger.

This baby couldn't be delivered by a normal doctor. The baby would probably bite the doctor's finger off. Surprisingly, I gave a little giggle.

What would I do about Charlie? He couldn't know, and I couldn't just leave. He would have the whole police station searching for me.

I needed to find a vampire.

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**Sorry this was short, I promise next chapter will be longer!**

**Although, to make sure there is another chapter, please review!**

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN - *Peeks around corner* sorry for the late post! I did try and update it sooner but fanfiction was down!  
Another chapter that it is quite short, but this was a chapter I wanted to do...**

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, the wonderful Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Thanks to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

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Charlie was at Billy's and wouldn't be back for a while. If he was here when I left, it would be that much more difficult.

I walked slowly back into my bedroom, carefully because I didn't want an unnecessary sickness attack.

I pulled out the first pair of clothes I could find and put them on, and tied my hair back in a ponytail.

I don't know how I was thinking so clearly. I mean, I should be crying my eyes out, but this was all so new.

I never thought I wanted children. I always thought they were noisy creatures who were always dripping something.

But I loved this baby, even if it wasn't human, and it's the only part of him I have left.

I carefully dropped to my knees, and searched under the bed for my suitcase.

I grabbed it by the handle and slid it out from under the bed. It got caught on something, and wouldn't come loose.

Using both hands, I grasped the handle and pulled it as hard as I could. It finally came out, but there was a sound like a piece of wood being dropped.

I looked under the bed to see that a floor board had come out.

I picked up the board, but just as I was about to put it back, something glistened and caught my eye from the hole in the floor.

I put the missing piece of wood down, and reached out my hand to search around the cavity.

I found something hard, and I picked it up.

My breathing stopped when I laid eyes on it. It was a clear jewel case, with pictures inside, along with a blank CD.

Memories entered my mind: my birthday, and how Alice had gone over the top with the party and Edward humming my lullaby as he held me while I went to sleep. And then a more painful memory entered. Me, slicing my finger on the wrapping paper on this very present, and being thrown onto the floor of shattered glass.

I stopped there, and I didn't realise I was crying until I saw water droplets land on the jewel case.

The pictures in the case were turned over, and, with a shaky hand, I opened the case and turned the pictures over.

The first picture was of him and I in the living room with my hand around his waist. I looked so plain next to him, and it confirmed my suspicions that I was no good for him.

I felt a little nudge in my stomach.

"It's your daddy..." I whispered.

I started sobbing uncontrollably, and I couldn't bring my self to look at the other photographs.

I put the photos back and shut the case before putting it on my bed and replacing the missing floorboard.

When I started to think clearly again, questions formed in my mind.

Why did he leave these here? I thought he wanted me to forget him.

It would be as if I'd never existed...

But I couldn't think about that now, I had more important things to think about.

I picked up my suitcase and placed it on the bed, throwing in random clothes that I could find, along with a tooth brush, tooth paste, and a hair brush.

I zipped up the suitcase before picking up a piece of paper and a pen and starting to write.

Dad,

Something really important has come up, and I had to leave.

I'm sorry for leaving you with such short notice, and that I haven't said goodbye in person.

I don't know how long I'll be gone for, but I don't want you to try and find me.

I promise I'll be back as soon as I can, and that I will be safe.

Please respect my wishes.

I love you,

Bella

My handwriting was more shaky than usual, but I hoped he wouldn't notice that.

I walked back into my room and picked up my suitcase. I noticed the CD on my bed, and quickly unzipped my suitcase and put it in, along with a portable CD player, and headphones.

I walked downstairs with my case in hand and placed my note on the TV hoping he would find it.

I opened the front door and walked out, closing it behind me and putting my luggage in the back of the truck. I got in the front, and drove, not quite sure where I was going.

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**AN - I'm not getting many reviews, and when I get more reviews I get inspired more to write.**

**I like this story, so I hope you do to! So please show your support and review. Only takes a minute!****xxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN/ 3rd chapter up, sorry this was so long to post up, I had a lot of trouble wording it!  
Hope you enjoy it, and I put a lot of work into this, so if you read this, please review!**

**I do not own twilight or any of the characters, Stephenie Meyer does!**

**Thanks to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

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I barely kept track of where I was going. I only watched the road I was on, but mainly to make sure I wouldn't crash. I was on a highway, and a sudden pain hit me in the stomach. I pulled over as quickly as I could, and threw up over the side of the truck. After I was done, I pulled out a tissue from the glove compartment, and wiped my mouth. I started to drive again, and I felt a fluttering in my abdomen.

"It's okay, baby. You're okay...We're okay," I whispered as I patted my stomach.

It was starting to get dark outside, and I was extremely tired. I pulled over at an extremely cheap looking motel, but, seeing as I was on a budget, I made do.

I didn't sleep well. I was constantly having to throw up in the toilet. I was sure I kept the people in the room next to me awake, as well.

It was early morning and I set off again after I had a quick bite to eat for breakfast.

While in a short traffic jam, I rested my hand on my abdomen, but something felt different. I looked down, and I noticed, my stomach looked even more swollen.

After driving for hours on end, only pulling over for gas, food, and frequent throwing up, I found myself in Seattle.

I was getting extremely tired again, so I pulled off at the nearest exit and parked the truck. I leaned over and lied down, using my jumper as a pillow, and fell asleep.

The next morning I decided to stay in Seattle for a little while longer, mainly because I didn't know where I was going to find a vampire. Or if they would even help me. I knew my best bet was to find Carlisle. I mean, if I found him, he would have to help, wouldn't he? This was his grandchild!

I drove to the nearest stationary store and bought some paper and a few pens. I then found an internet café, and went on the computer.

I didn't think they would move outside of the U.S. this quick, so I typed in "Cloudy places in the U.S.A."

The internet was really slow, and it took forever for the results to come up.

Forks.

"Well, that's just great." I mumbled. I scrolled down the page to see if there were any other places.

Portland. Juneau. Seattle.

Seattle? Would they move this close? Just to make sure, I created 3 lists of all the hospitals in Portland, Juneau and Seattle.

I turned off the computer and made my way back to the truck, but before I could make it, another pain hit me in the stomach. I ran as fast as I could to the grass that was just behind the building, where I hoped no one would see me.

"The first few months are the worst," I heard someone mutter from above me. I was still crouched over. I quickly wiped my mouth with my hand, and stood up.

A woman, maybe 30, was looking at me with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Huh?" I asked, a little dizzy.

"The pregnancy. The first few months are the worst." She gestured towards my belly.

"It's that obvious?" I asked. She nodded.

"How far along are you?" she asked politely.

"Umm...." I stuttered. 19 days. "3....and a half," It sounded like a question.

"Want some gum?" she asked.

I smiled. She was trying to help me. "Does it help?"

"It did with me."

"Umm...Okay, that would be great...Thanks." She opened her handbag and took out some gum, handing it to me. She suddenly looked at her watch.

"I've got to go. Good luck."

"Thanks." I smiled at her, and she left.

I turned and headed back to my truck, popping the gum in my mouth along the way.

I drove to the nearest phone box, and began calling random hospitals in hope of some luck.

I started with the Seattle hospitals first. I started dialling the first number when I felt my little nudger moving around inside of me.

"We'll find him...We'll find him..." I said, although it sounded like I was trying to reassure myself.

Over the next few days, I slept in my truck by night, and phoned hospitals by day. And everyday, my stomach got bigger. But every time my stomach got bigger, the kicks became more hard and painful. Unfortunately, every hospital said they didn't have any doctors by the name Carlisle Cullen.

I was in my truck trying to fall asleep. I was listening to the CD that he made me for my birthday. Although I knew he didn't love me anymore, I still liked to believe, when I was listening to the music, that he still did.

I pondered over one question every night, which often kept me awake, although not for very long, as I was usually exhausted by the end of the day even though all I had been doing was phoning.

Why hadn't Alice seen this happening? And even if she didn't, why isn't she seeing me now, and coming to help me?

Tomorrow, I would finish my list of phone numbers, and if I had no luck, I would be stuck. Maybe I could just go home to Charlie? Tell him everything, and, if worst comes to worst and I don't survive this, he could look after my baby. Maybe I would use that as my last resort.

I woke up the next morning, and finished my list of numbers with no luck. I looked down at my stomach and rubbed it. I looked more like I was 4 months pregnant now.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." I sobbed, mainly because I didn't know what else to do.

Thanks to my endless phoning, I was now becoming low on funds.

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**AN/ Review and I will give you Edward's phone number! ;-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN/ Hi guys! Chapter 4 is up! I'd like to say a big thank you to all of my readers, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who reviewed! (I love reviews!)**

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, Stephenie Meyer does!  
A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight. Who without, this story wouldn't be half as good!**

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I was lying down in my truck, with my head on my jumper trying to fall asleep. I had been doing this for the last two weeks and I only had another weeks worth of money left, and that was if I didn't stop for gas to fill up the truck. So now I was parked in an abandoned parking lot, thankfully reasonably close to a corner shop for food.

I was just nodding off when my little nudger kicked my ribs. I let out a loud cry. It felt like I had just been stabbed with a knife. The kicks had been becoming more painful over the last couple of days. I didn't realise I was holding my breath until I exhaled when the throbbing subsided. I lifted up my shirt, which was already having trouble covering my stomach, to check that everything was alright where he or she had kicked me.

My ribs seemed to be fine, or they looked fine. Nothing was too painful when I touched it. After a few moments of examining, I noticed a bruise was starting to form. I sighed and pulled my shirt back down. I was sitting up, so I leaned my head against the window and looked in the side mirror.

I looked extremely pale. I had dark circles under my eyes, and I'm sure from a distance I could have passed as a vampire. My face looked very thin, even my cheek bones were more pronounced. It was then that it really sunk in. That there was a very good chance I was going to die doing this.

No, I had to get through this, even if meant giving birth to an inhuman child. I had come up with a plan, I would have another 2 days of just hoping, and if it comes up dry, I would go back home to Charlie, and hope that he would be willing to cooperate.

My little nudger was still moving about and occasionally would kick me. I was sure it was by accident, and I knew I wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight. My batteries had run out in my CD player last night, so my only entertainment system now was the old radio in the truck. I tuned the radio and set it to the local station.

"Good evening everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are issuing a warning tonight to anyone who may be taking a trip to Mount Rainer, southeast of Seattle, Washington, to avoid the area. Lately, there has been an overpopulation of grizzly bears in the region. They have also just come out of hibernation as well, so they are very irritable. I want to remind any hunters out there that there is no hunting allowed. For more information, please visit the website for a list of weapons that are banned."

"I bet they didn't include teeth," I muttered darkly, but then something sunk in.

Mount Rainier. Grizzly bears. Irritable. Hunting weapons. Teeth...Emmett!

He never passed up an opportunity to hunt some grizzly bears. I had never gone to Mount Rainier, but I'm sure it couldn't be hard to find. Didn't the announcer say it was southeast of Seattle? I remember searching for it on the internet when he went hunting there once. I think it was about 55 miles away. That would mean using up all my money. I wouldn't even have enough to get home. Would I risk it? He might not be there. He might have just hunted and might not need to again for another week or so. Although there were so many risks involved, I felt like I had no choice.

I turned the keys, and the truck roared to life. I turned onto the highway and followed the signs to Mount Rainier.

After almost two hours of driving, I could finally see the white tip of the mountain in front of me. I pulled over, but before I got out, I pulled a sweater over my head because of how cold it was outside.

A sudden thought occurred to me then. What if he was in hunting mode? He told me about it once, how they give over all their senses, and how he cringed when he thought about what would happen if I were there. If Emmett was still in hunting mode, and he caught my scent, I could be dead in a matter of seconds. I tried to shrug off the thought and just hope he was finished with whatever he was doing. This opportunity was too important to miss.

I could see the dark outline of trees of a forest in front of me, so I headed in that direction. I had been walking for about 10 minutes, but, because I was always tripping, I wasn't as far into the forest as I would have liked. And every time I landed on the floor, it took me twice as long to get up with my nudger kicking me every time. A little while later, I was about 100 yards in. I was surrounded by trees, and I now realised I wouldn't be able to find my way out easily, especially with how dark it was. No vampires had attacked me yet, so I decided to start calling. If there were any vampires here, I was sure they'd hear me.

"EMMETT!" I shouted at the top of my voice.

I counted to 200 in my head, and there was still no sign that anyone was here. I tried again.

"EMMETT!"

Just as I finished saying the final syllable, my baby kicked me the hardest he or she ever had. I screamed in agony, and before I knew it I was curled up on the floor, my arms clutching my stomach.

"Emmett, Emmett..." I sobbed as the pain dulled. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had failed, and now I was all alone with no help from anyone.

"Bella?"

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**Ooh! Cliff hanger!**

**Again, I love reviews, and the more reviews I get, the quicker I write! Yours Counts!**

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	5. Chapter 5

**AN/ Hello readers! Chapter 5 as promised! Hope you enjoy reading! (I LOVE REVIEWS) A Huge thank you to all of my reviewers as well! You guys are great!****  
DISCLAIMER - I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

**REMINDER - If you wish to continue to read this story, please put a story alert on it. If you add it as your favourite stories, you will not be notified when there is a new chapter added!**

_Previously_

"_Emmett, Emmett..." I sobbed as the pain dulled. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had failed, and now I was all alone with no help from anyone._

"_Bella?"_

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………_._

My eyes flew open, and all I could see in front of me was a pair of white shoes, which were slightly dirty from the mud.

The pain was better, so using my arm, I shifted myself so I was in an almost sitting position.

My head flew up and I laid eyes on a pair of butterscotch, honey golden ones.

"Emmett?" I gasped, not believing my luck.

"Bella, what are you doing here? You don't look so good," he accused.

"Oh, Emmett," I cried. Using all of my strength, I got to my feet and wrapped my arms around him as far as they would go. I couldn't believe I really tracked down a vampire. And not only a vampire, but a vegetarian vampire who I actually knew.

My baby kicked again, but because I was hugging Emmett, he felt it too.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. I pulled back, and he caught sight of my stomach. He tilted his head to the side, and his eyes turned into slits.

"Bella…?" he asked uncertain. Afraid my voice would shake, I just rested my hand on my stomach, and nodded. He seemed to think for a few moments.

"But…we didn't leave you like this." He sounded like he was talking to himself.

"You didn't," I whispered, knowing he would be able to hear. My legs were starting to feel very weak, and it was hard being able to stand up. I slowly lowered myself onto the ground, until I was sitting on the floor with my hand still resting on my stomach.

"Bella, are you alright?" Emmett asked. I wasn't alright, I was exhausted. I was still getting slight stabbing pains in my abdomen, but I was trying not to show the pain on my face. As I didn't answer straight away, he asked another question.

"Are you in pain Bella?" he asked, now kneeling down so he could see my face.

I didn't realize I was crying until a felt tear drops on my hand. I nodded again.

He seemed very uncomfortable, like he didn't know what to do. I could tell that he knew I was in a lot of danger, and that this pregnancy wasn't right.

"Bella," he said looking me straight in the eye. "Who's the father?"

More tears rolled down my face as I whispered, "Edward."

His reaction shocked me. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," I almost shouted, and I'm sure I would've if I wasn't in pain, too.

"But…it's supposed to be impossible," he whispered to himself, I had to strain myself to catch every word. I tried to calm myself down.

"Look, I wouldn't lie about this." I stopped to look at his face to make sure he was listening. He was. "It's Edward's" It was still hard saying his name.

He nodded, understanding. My face was feeling more wet, and I knew not even my tears could do that. I looked up and noticed it was raining. Emmett seemed to notice as well, and with a sad smile on his face, he said "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe and warm."

"Really?" I gasped. I regretted it as soon as it was out of my mouth. He might change his mind. I bit my bottom lip.

"Of course," he said with a smirk on his face. "I'm not just going to leave you out here all alone, am I? Let the bears get you?" He let out a booming laugh which echoed around the forest.

I couldn't help but smile. I didn't realize how much I missed his laughter.

Before I knew it, I was being picked up. But before I could refuse, he was running.

My first response was not to throw up, so, just in case, I buried my face in his chest and squeezed my eyes shut. Another part of me though, missed this feeling, the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair, while someone was running with me clutched to them for dear life.

After about 40 seconds, Emmett came to a stand still. I opened my eyes, and in front of me was his big red jeep parked on a road. I couldn't look at it for long as the familiar pain pierced me in the stomach again. I clamped my hand over my mouth. Luckily Emmett noticed, and before I threw up on him, he ran me towards the long grass about 10 meters from the jeep. He dropped me to my feet and I knelt over, throwing up.

After I was done, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and slowly stood up. Emmett had to steady me a few times before I could stand still without falling over.

"Okay…?" he asked after I was standing without his help.

"Better, thanks" I replied as he helped me walk to the jeep.

Once inside, it was warm and cozy compared to outside. When he started driving, it reminded me of something.

"Oh, what about my truck?" I asked.

"I'll have someone to pick it up for you. Don't worry" he answered with a wink. I smiled.

After a couple minutes of driving, I took off my sweater. It was getting warm. The sweater was covering most of the bump, so now my t-shirt was only covering half of my overgrown belly.

I heard Emmett gasp.

"I know, hard to believe I'm only over a month huh?" I teased. He smiled.

"Well, yeah…But Bella, what are all those blotches?" he asked, pointing towards my abdomen. Blotches? I looked down and gasped when I saw it, or them. My stomach had about 3 to 4 purple, blackish looking inkblots on it. It took me a moment to realize they were bruises.

"I guess that's where the baby's been kicking me," I muttered.

"Is the pain better now?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's not much now."

I looked out the window but I couldn't see much as it was so dark outside, although I could tell he was driving fast. I couldn't help but think to myself how much I missed their high-speed driving.

"Bella," Emmett said as he pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked at him. "How did you know how to find me?" I decided to answer honestly.

"I heard an announcement on the radio about an over population of grizzly bears in Mount Rainier. It was when they said that they were irritable, I thought of you"

He let out a small chuckle when I said irritable, but then his face went serious.

"What was that scream I heard?" he asked gently. I cringed from the memory.

"The baby kicked me really hard," I murmured, I could hardly hear myself, although I knew he could.

"It sounded like you were in agony," he claimed.

I took a deep breath. "It was," I whispered.

He pulled over at a nice looking hotel. Probably not your nicest hotel in the world, but much nicer than the ones I had been used to the past couple weeks. But all I thought about was the price.

"I can't afford to stay here," I said, startled.

"I can, and plus, you look exhausted," he chuckled.

"Emmett, I can't expect you to pay for this None of this is your fault," I clarified.

"Bella, technically you're family now, and I'd do anything for family," he explained. "Also," he added. "I always saw you as part of the family anyway, little sis,'" he stated, with another wink.

"Thank you," I whispered, touched. Suddenly he was by my door opening it for me. I jumped back, surprised.

"Sorry, Emmett…you just took me by surprise," I gasped laughing. "I'll have to get used to that again."

"Only when it's dark and people can't see," he said as he helped me out of the car.

"Um…you may need to put your sweater back on," he advised.

"Oops" I said as I pulled the sweater over my head.

"Better?" I asked when I was stood up.

"Better," he allowed. "Although, you could possibly pass as a vampire, with how pale you are" he teased.

"Very funny," I said as I walked towards the hotel entrance, Emmett kept his arm around me incase I fell.

As we walked inside, Emmett gestured for me to sit down on the couch while he checked in. I sank back into the cushions and closed my eyes.

I felt someone gently shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes, and saw Emmett standing in front of me chuckling.

"Now didn't I tell you that you were tired?" he teased.

"Okay, you were right" I replied a little sleepy. He helped me up and supported me while he led the way. I must have fallen asleep on the way, because when I opened my eyes, Emmett was holding a hotel door open, while pulling me through the entry. He pulled me over to the bed and laid me down while he sat down in the chair next to the bed. Using all of the consciousness that I had, using my arms, I supported myself enough so I could kick off my shoes. When they were off, I crawled underneath the covers. I caught Emmett with a phone pressed against his ear.

"Who're you calling?" I asked groggily.

"Carlisle" he answered. Although how much I wanted to listen to the conversation, I was very exhausted, and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I drifted off to sleep feeling the safest I had in a long time.

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**Thank you for reading! And don't worry, this is NOT going to be a BellaXEmmett story!**

**REMINDER - If you wish to continue to read this story, please put a story alert on it. If you add it as your favourite stories, you will not be notified when there is a new chapter added!**

**Please review! The more reviews I get, the quicker I write! Yours Counts!**

**XXXX**

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	6. Chapter 6

**AN/ Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers! You guys are the best! I decided to post this chapter quicker because of all the great reviews, and in hope of getting some more! :-)**

**This is a chapter I really wanted to do, it's a little Bella/Emmett bonding time! And some very much needed information!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. The wonderful Stephenie Meyer does!**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight.**

* * *

I slowly felt my consciousness coming back to me. I gradually opened my eyes, but had to close them again as I was blinded by the sunlight. I felt a cool breeze brush past me, and then suddenly it was darker behind my eye lids. I opened my eyes again, and noticed the curtains had been drawn shut. I turned my head and saw Emmett sitting in the chair next to me, smiling.

"Morning, sleepy head," he chuckled.

"Morning," My voice was hoarse. Suddenly, he was handing me a glass of water.

"Thanks," I muttered. After I took a sip, he took it back from me. Yesterday's events were suddenly replaying in my head.

"Did you speak to Carlisle?" I asked.

"I did, and he'll be here in a few hours or so. You slept for a long time," he said, although I had a feeling he was hiding something from me.

"What is it?" I asked. He let out a sigh.

"He's very concerned about the pregnancy. He's never heard of a human carrying a vampire's baby before," he said, worry lines etching on his forehead.

I knew that, but there was another question I needed answering.

"Have um...you or Carlisle...talked to uh..." I couldn't bring myself to say his name.

"Edward?" he asked softly. I nodded.

"He usually gets in contact with Carlisle every two weeks or so. We called his cell phone, but it's switched off. We left a message." he confessed. "Carlisle heard from him about a week ago."  
Even when he got in contact, would he come? He would have to come and see his child, wouldn't he? And why was he only keeping in contact with him every 2 weeks?

"What was the message?" I whispered.

"Just saying to get in contact with us urgently, we don't need him freaking out just yet," he chuckled.

"Have you spoken to Alice?" I asked.

"She was the second person I rang. She can't see you. It's just blank. Neither me nor Carlisle know why," he informed me. "She's meeting us back at the house in Forks with Jasper and Rosalie, since it's the closest to Seattle."

"We're going back to Forks?" I gasped. He nodded.

"Carlisle's ordered some equipment to be sent to there," Emmett revealed. Equipment? I guess they'd need to check that the baby's alright.

I didn't think that we would be going back to Forks. Someone would be bound to notice us. But what about Charlie? Forks is such a small town that even if one person spotted us, the whole town would know.

"Someone will see-" I was cut off by a stabbing pain in my stomach. I held my hand to my mouth and crouched over the side of the bed. Luckily, Emmett had a bowl underneath my chin just in time.

When I was done, I grabbed a tissue from the side table and wiped my mouth. I leaned back into the pillows.

"Sorry," I whispered, embarrassed.

"You missed me, so no worries, Bella," he chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Although the sickness was gone, I was still getting sharp pains in my abdomen. I clutched my stomach and bit my lip to stop myself from crying out.

"Kicking?" Emmett guessed. I couldn't speak, so I let out a little whimper and nodded. After a few minutes the pain was starting to subside, and I could open my eyes.

"Carlisle?" I heard Emmett ask. I looked in his direction, and saw Emmett on the phone.

"I just wanted to know if you had any advice for when the...uh...fetus kicks?" There was a pause while Carlisle spoke. A fetus? Why would Emmett call my baby a fetus? "Yes, yes I will. See you soon, Carlisle." He hung up. He turned his attention to me.

"I'm afraid there's nothing much we can do when the kicks start. You'll just have to hang in there until Carlisle gets here, which won't be too long now," he said with a sad smile on his face. I nodded.

"You were saying before? He asked.

"Someone's bound to notice us, Emmett. It's such a small town" I insisted.

"Got it covered, Bella. We'll drive back in Carlisle's Mercedes. The windows are tinted so no one will see us," he reassured me.

"You're sure?" I asked.

He looked me in the eyes. "I'm sure."

I nodded and pulled down the covers to reveal my stomach. I pulled up my sweat shirt, and we both gasped at the same time. My stomach was bigger, and had a few more bruises. You could barely see any skin that wasn't bruised. I pulled the sweatshirt down and sank back into the pillows.

"Emmett?" I asked.

"Yes, Bella?" he answered. How would I start? I don't want to be rude.

"Why did you call my baby a fetus?" I said, looking into his eyes.

He seemed to think this over for a few seconds. A normal human wouldn't notice, but I did.

"It's only because Carlisle doesn't know what this baby is," he said with a warm smile on his face. "It's easier to call it a fetus."

"Oh...okay," I murmured.

"Are you hungry? Carlisle reminded me that you need to eat," he chuckled.

I thought about that for a moment, and realised I was starving.

"Starving," I breathed.

"I'll be right back. Will you be alright here while I'm gone?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," I promised. He handed me his phone before he left, just in case.

After a few minutes, though, as expected, he was back.

"Still in one piece?" he sniggered.

"I _think_ so," I joked.

"Here," he handed me a plastic bag. "I hope this will be alright, I'm not really sure what humans like for food."

I emptied the contents onto my lap. There was a sandwich wrapped in packaging along with some crisps.

"They were both together when I found them, so I guessed they would go together," he admitted.

"They do. Thanks," I said as I unwrapped the packaging on the sandwich. I took a bite along with a few crisps. Emmett had a smug look on his face for finding something that I could eat. I didn't realise how hungry I was, but, when I thought about it, I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours.

When I was done, I stuffed the empty packaging in the bag. But, before I could depose of it, Emmett took it from me.

I suddenly realised I needed the toilet badly. I guess being pregnant did that to you.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and, using my arms, I started to get up, only to be pushed down by Emmett.

"Bella, anything you need, I'll get it for you," he commanded.

"But I was just-" I said as I tried to get up again.

"Bella, what ever you need, I'll go get for you. Now, what do you need?" he asked.

I suppose I should just come out and say it.

"I need to use the bathroom," I mumbled.

Awkwardness crossed his face.

"Umm..." he started.

"Don't worry, I can go by myself," I winked.

"Just call out if something happens, okay?" he asked, uncertain.

"I will," I promised.

I started to get up again, only this time, Emmett was helping me. He helped steady me once I was standing up. Once I was up, I felt really heavily pregnant. My stomach was much bigger than I remembered it to be.

"Gosh, what do you think I could pass for now?" I joked.

"Seven months, although I know better," he winked.

I managed to wobble my way over to the bathroom. I didn't lock the door in case of an emergency, although I'm sure a lock wouldn't be too much trouble for Emmett.

When I was finished, I looked in the bathroom mirror. I looked extremely thin in the face, and I had dark circles under my eyes. They were more noticeable with my pale complexion, which was more white than ivory. My hair was all messy, so I pulled the hair band out of my hair, collected all the hair that had come loose and tied it back in another pony tail. I suddenly felt extremely sick. I ran over to the toilet, and just in time, brought up my lunch.

When I was finished, there was suddenly a towel in front of me.

"Thanks," I said, as I wiped my mouth.

"No problem," Emmett replied.

I rested my head against the shower.

"I'm sorry you got sucked into this Emmett," I said as I closed my eyes from exhaustion.

"I didn't get sucked into this, Bella. I chose to help you. Now, come on. Let's get you to bed," he said as he picked me up. He laid me on the bed.

"Carlisle said get plenty of rest," he said while he pulled the covers back over me. "He will be here when you wake up," I heard Emmet say before I gently closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**Please review! Reviews are the reason I write stories on here! LOL No, really it is! :-)**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN/ Sorry for the late post. I had a bad case of writers block! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers who helped me get through it!**

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does!  
A huge thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight.**

* * *

I felt a cold, hard hand on my forehead. I immediately thought of Edward. Had he heard the phone message and come back for me?

I opened my eyes and saw Carlisle sitting on the bed next to me. It was his hand on my forehead.

"Carlisle," I breathed.

"Oh, Bella...We should have never left. I'm so sorry," Carlisle apologised.

"You didn't know," I reassured him. "I didn't know." He smiled warmly at me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. I guessed he'd need to know the truth.

"A little sore," I confessed.

"Do you mind?" he asked, gesturing towards my belly. I was confused by what he meant. Oh, he wanted to check my stomach. I nodded.

He slowly pulled down the covers, and lifted up my sweatshirt, along with my t-shirt to the very top of my stomach. I heard him take in a shaky breath when he saw the bruises. He gently pushed on my abdomen and I winced.

"Sorry," he apologised. After a few more minutes of examining, he pulled my sweatshirt back down.

"Bella, do you know the conception date?" he asked me. Of course I knew it. It hurt to even think about it. That was the day he lied to me the most.

"September 12th," I whispered.

"And you're sure that was the date?" he asked gently.

"I'm sure," I muttered. "It was the day before my birthday." A sad look appeared on Carlisle's face, but he quickly rearranged his features.

"Emmett's just checking out. Are you ready to leave?" he asked.

"Um...Okay," I mumbled as I swung my legs over the side. Carlisle helped steady me when I was up.

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom," I said, inclining my head towards the bathroom door.

"Are you alright by yourself?" he enquired.

"I'll manage," I assured him.

"Okay. Oh, I got these for you." He leaned over the side of the bed and picked up a carrier bag. He handed it to me.

"They're maternity clothes," he explained. "Emmett said you were bursting out of your current ones." He gave a light chuckle.

"Thanks," I smiled. "For everything,"

"It's not a problem, Bella." He said wholeheartedly.

I made my way over to the bathroom and shut the door behind me once again.

When I was done, I peaked inside the bag. There was some sweatpants, a cotton t-shirt and a new sweatshirt, all maternity size. Once I put them on I felt a lot better. For one, they were clean, and two, they actually fit. I noticed there was something else in the bag. I pulled them out and noticed it was a pair of new shoes. When I thought about it, my feet were feeling more squished. After I put them on, and stuffed all of my old clothes in the bag, a pain stabbed me in the stomach.

"Ahhh...!" I screamed, sliding to the floor clutching my belly. Not a second later Carlisle was at my side.

"Bella let me take a look," he said urgently.

"Just...hold...on a...second," I panted.

"Bella, I need to make sure nothing's broken," he insisted.

He moved my arms away and gently pushed my ribs to make sure nothing was broken. After a few minutes he seemed content that there was nothing fractured.

"Is the pain better?" he asked.

"Better," I allowed.

"Don't worry," he said as he helped me up. "We'll take care of this."

Take care of this? He obviously meant helping me get through this. The pain was now a distant ache and I was able to walk.

I assured him I was alright now and I made my way towards the bedroom. Carlisle picked up the carrier bag and with the other arm, supporting me all the way towards the lobby.

As we walked out the doors, I noticed Carlisle's Mercedes parked in the lot.

Carlisle opened the door for me and I slid in. I noticed Emmett in the back seat next to me.

"Are you sure you're alright sitting in the back with me?" I asked Emmett.

"Of course," he smirked. "Just in case you need to get out the car quick, I'll be here." He promised. I smiled.

"What about the Jeep?" I asked.

"No worries. I'll get someone to pick it up for me. It's more important we get you home safe."

"Thanks," I said as I rested my head against the head rest. Carlisle started the car and we were on our way to Forks. After a few minutes, Emmett broke the silence.

"New clothes?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, Carlisle got them for me. It's nice to have some clothes that fit," I chuckled. Then I remembered.

"Oh, Carlisle, I never got a chance to thank you for them," I mentioned.

"It's not a problem, Bella. I was happy to help," Carlisle insisted, although there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

After about an hour of driving, I was starting to feel a bit of nausea. I put both hands on my stomach. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths.

"Can you pull over?" I asked quietly.

A couple of seconds later Carlisle had pulled over and Emmett was carrying me out the car quickly, at human speed though as people could see us.

When I was done being sick, Carlisle handed me a towel.

"Thanks," I muttered as I wiped my mouth.

"Just a couple more hours and we'll be back in Forks," Carlisle assured me. I nodded.

I climbed back into the back seat along with Emmett, and Carlisle set off again. I yawned quietly, but of course, being in a car with two vampires, I didn't get away with it.

"Go to sleep, Bella," Emmett insisted.

"I'm alright," I tried to reassure him. "It feels like sleeping is the only thing I've been doing for the past couple days," I tried to convince them, although I sounded very tired.

"Bella," Carlisle said in a serious tone. "We don't know what the fetus is doing to your body. The best thing you can do is to try and rest to build up your strength."

"'Kay," I yawned again, as I shifted myself so I was lying down on the seat, resting my head on my arms. I felt my legs being shifted. I looked up and noticed Emmett had moved my legs onto his lap so I could stretch out more. We both smiled at each other for a second before I lied back down again and fell asleep.

When I woke, I sat up and looked out the window. We were in Forks.

"Bella?" Emmett asked. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm..." I turned to look at him. He looked wary. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just can't believe I'm...we're...back in Forks," I smiled sadly.

Carlisle turned off at a road, which I noticed was their driveway.

After a few miles we were greeted by their big white house. Emmett helped me out of the car, and walked me up the porch steps to the front door. I assumed Carlisle was walking behind us, but in a blink, he was in front of us, holding the door open. I smiled at him as Emmett walked me inside.

"Bella!" A whirlwind sang as she flew down the stairs, almost crashing into me.

"Alice," I breathed as she wrapped me in a hug. "I missed you."

"Wow." She let me out of the hug and looked at my stomach. "Emmett said you looked big, but I didn't think this," she paused and gestured toward my belly, "big."

"Emmett said you couldn't see me," I whispered.

"I can't!" she exclaimed. "It's driving me crazy! If you weren't standing in front of me now, I'd say you were dead." I flinched when she said dead.

"I'm sure it's just the...fetus doing that. Don't worry," She tried to reassure me, although she still seemed worried. Why was everyone calling my baby a fetus?

"Carlisle, all the equipment has arrived. I've moved it all up to your study," Alice informed him.

"Thank you, Alice. I'll just go and make sure everything is in working order," Carlisle said as he flew up the stairs.

My baby kicked again. I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched my stomach. I'm sure I would've fallen over if Emmett wasn't supporting me.

Suddenly I felt as if I was being sat down. The pain was now mostly gone, so I opened my eyes. Alice was kneeling in front of me clearly shaken.

"Sorry," I apologised.

"Bella, you have absolutely nothing to apologise for," she insisted.

"Where is Rosalie?" Emmett asked.

"She went with Jasper since there are two cars to pick up," she told him.

"Has there been any word from Edward?" Emmett asked Alice. I flinched when he said his name.

"None. I would go and find him, but he's always changing his mind where he's going. He's never in one place long enough," she replied, seeming slightly annoyed.

Carlisle came down stairs, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Bella, when you're ready, we'll start the procedure."

This confused me. Procedure?

"Procedure?" I asked. His facial expression changed, making it obvious that this was the question he didn't want me to ask.

"To terminate the pregnancy," he said sadly.

* * *

**Oh no! Cliffie! (I couldn't resist!) What will Bella do? Or will she even have a choice? Please Review! ( I love reviews ) xxxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN/ ****Hi guys! This is a shorter chapter than usual. This is sort of an in between chapter. Enjoy! Remember the more reviews I get the quicker I write!****Any questions? Just review or PM me and I'll answer them  
****  
I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight.**_:_

* * *

Previously

"_Procedure?" I asked. His facial expression changed, making it obvious that this was the question he didn't want me to ask._

"_To terminate the pregnancy," he said sadly._

................................................................................................................................................

I wasn't sure if I'd heard him correctly. Terminate the pregnancy, he said. This was his plan all along. No wonder he called my baby a fetus. But Emmett called my baby a fetus, as well. So did Alice. They were both going along with it.

"Bella?" Carlisle asked gently.

"No!" I gasped.

Alice took both of my hands in hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"Please Bella..." Alice cried.

She was taking Carlisle's side? She was my best friend.

"Bella," Carlisle said as he came over and sat on the sofa on the other side of Emmett.

"I don't believe your body will be able to cope with this pregnancy," he started, but I interrupted.

"I'm still alive now," I pointed out.

"Just," I heard Emmett mutter under his breath. I glared at him.

"Bella. You can't eat anything and keep it down. You're extremely weak and you shouldn't be feeling these awful pains. This shows that the fetus may be stronger than you already," He tried to convince me.

"Stop calling him that!" I almost shrieked.

"Can't you see though, Bella? I very much doubt you will be able to survive this."

I knew this, but I was willing to give up my life for this baby.

"Human," I whispered.

"What?" all of them asked at the same time.

"I know there's not a very good chance of me surviving this," I looked at all of them. "Human."

"Bella, I know where you're going with this, and I didn't even have a vision," Alice moaned.

"If worst comes to worst, you can just change me...right?" I asked Carlisle. He seemed to think for a few moments.

"Bella, there may not be enough time to change you," Carlisle warned.

I was shocked by this. I thought vampire venom could heal anything. I didn't think that there wouldn't be enough time. But I didn't care about that. I was willing to die for my little nudger.

"That may be the case, but I am willing to die for my baby," I tried to say calmly, although my voice shook.

"Bella, please. You're my best friend. I can't bear to lose you," Alice pleaded.

I needed to do what I had to do to save my baby.

"Alice, if you were my best friend, you'd help me get through this," I whispered.

"Bella, you are my best friend," She whispered back, hurt.

Just at the wrong moment, my nudger kicked me again, although not as hard. I tried to not show the pain on my face.

"Bella, it's hurting you now. I can see," Carlisle said calmly.

"I can't, Carlisle," I sobbed, tears now steaming down my face. "It's a living, breathing person. I can't kill my baby," I pleaded.

"Bella, believe me. If this fetus wasn't going to endanger your life, I'd do all I could do to help you. But this isn't, Bella. This is something I've never seen before," he stated.

I wasn't sure if Carlisle would do it, but part of me thought he would force me to get rid of my baby if he had to. I knew Alice and Emmett would not help me. I needed someone who would. I remembered _him_ telling me how Esme had lost a son. Surely she would help me.

"Where's Esme?" I asked through my tears.

His facial expressions softened when I mentioned his wife's name.

"She went with Rosalie and Jasper, since they'd need to get the cars somehow," he replied gently as though not wanting to give away too much information.

Why would he send Esme to drive Rosalie and Jasper? Surely I would have thought he'd send Alice. A thought suddenly occurred to me. He knew Esme would stand by my side if I chose to keep my baby.

I buried my head in my hands and broke down in tears. I was all alone. I was an extremely weak human trying to change the minds of 3 vampires. And if I couldn't change their minds, I would have no hope of getting away. All I could do was whisper pleads throughout my cries.

I felt a breeze brush past me, but I didn't pay any attention to it. I didn't care about anything at this moment apart from finding a way to keep my baby alive.

Someone put their arm around me. At first I thought it was Emmett, but the person's arm felt too small to be his. I looked to my side through my blurry vision and saw Alice sitting next to me on the other side of Carlisle where I thought Emmett was. I shook my head and shrugged her arm off. I saw Alice's head snap up. She was having a vision.

"Rosalie." She whispered so quietly, I was surprised I heard her.

I immediately looked at Carlisle and he looked worried. In one second he was suddenly out of the room. Although he could be back any minute, I needed to find a way out. I still had the problem of Alice sitting next to me, though.

I looked at Alice with a pleading look on my face as I stood up.

"Bella," she whined quietly as she grabbed my left wrist.

"Alice, please," I begged.

"You're like a sister to me, Bella. I can't bear to lose you," She pleaded.

She could have easily pulled me back down by now. Although I knew I wouldn't survive this if I left, at least my baby would.

"Alice," I said as more tears streamed down my face, "I can't stay here if you're going to kill my child. I should have never of come. I'm sorry," I apologised.

She seemed to be battling with herself.

I looked at her hand that was grasping my wrist and then back at her.

"Please," I whispered. She shook her head.

Suddenly I heard a gasp. I looked towards the door and saw Rosalie stood there, her eyes fixed on my stomach. Alice let go of my wrist, almost as a sign of defeat.

I didn't care if she didn't like me. I had to do anything. I ran using all of my strength and wrapped my arms around Rosalie.

"Please, you have to help me," I whispered.

* * *

**This isn't going to be a re-write of breaking dawn! Don't worry!  
Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN/ Hi guys! I'm going on holiday tomorrow, and won't be back for a few days. I felt sorry for all of you who would have to wait, so I updated quickly!  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters! Stephenie Meyer does!**

_

* * *

_

_Previously_

_I didn't care if she didn't like me. I had to do anything. I ran using all of my strength and wrapped my arms around Rosalie._

"_Please, you have to help me," I whispered._

................................................................................................................................................

"Bella...?" she asked, unsure.

"Rosalie, please...you have...to...help...me," I stuttered through my tears.

"What...why?" Rosalie seemed lost for words, which was very unlike her.

I looked up and noticed Emmett and Carlisle were standing behind Rosalie. I guessed Alice was still sitting down on the couch. I couldn't afford to be polite and ask Rosalie for her help without them here. There might not be enough time. I'd have to spare their feelings. I turned my attention back to Rosalie.

"They want to kill my baby," I cried quietly, although I knew all of them would be able to hear. Her facial expressions didn't change. It was as if I hadn't said anything. Then something clicked.

"They what?" she roared, turning on her heels in time you would have thought impossible, and glared at Carlisle.

No one was supporting me now, and I could feel my legs starting to feel like jelly. They gave out, but luckily Alice was there to catch me. She lowered me to the ground softly into a sitting position. I'm sure I was going to have a bruise from where she caught me.

Rosalie, obviously sensing that something was wrong, turned back to look at me. I thought she was looking at me, but she was looking at my overgrown belly.

"Carlisle!" she demanded, her eyes never leaving my stomach.

I heard Carlisle sigh.

"As you can see, Bella is pregnant. But I'm sure you've realized that we didn't leave her like this," he started. Alice started to lift me up. I turned around and looked at her. She was gesturing with her eyes that I should sit on the sofa. A sad smile played on my lips, and I nodded. She easily lifted me up and carried me over to the sofa. Rosalie followed and sat next to me, not taking her eyes off my belly.

"Bella is carrying Edward's baby," Carlisle continued, and Rosalie's eyes widened.

"The fetus is growing far too quickly, and I have reason to believe that Bella won't survive this pregnancy if we don't terminate the fetus."

I looked at Rosalie with pleading eyes.

"You said it wasn't possible," she whispered so quietly, it was hard for me to hear, and I was sitting right next to her.

"I didn't think it was...until now." Carlisle sighed. "My theory is that it was only possible because Bella was human at the time of conception." I cringed. "Our female kind, however, are different. The body cannot change, and the body needs to change in order to provide for the fetus. It obviously doesn't apply to the males." He said quietly.

I suddenly saw the determination in Rosalie's eyes.

"You are not going to harm this baby," she said, leaving no room for argument.

"Rosalie, I'm afraid I have no choice," he said sadly. I heard Rosalie hiss.

"Emmett?" Rosalie demanded.

Emmett sighed and came to stand by Rosalie, a look of apology on his face.

"I'm standing by my wife, Carlisle," He stated.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Carlisle knew he wouldn't be able to get them away now, even with Alice's help.

"Bella?" he asked, as a final attempt.

I shook my head.

"In that case, Bella, I will do everything that I can to try and keep you alive while you go through with this pregnancy," he said, although there was a lot of sadness in his voice. He really didn't believe I would survive.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I whispered. He nodded and turned to go upstairs. I looked at Rosalie and Emmett.

"Thank you," I breathed.

"Bella, I promise you. No harm will come to this baby. You have my word. I am not leaving your side," Rosalie promised. I smiled at her.

I turned to Alice, who looked like she was going to break down in tears. Although, with her being a vampire, I knew that wasn't possible.

"Alice, it will be okay," I tried to reassure her.

"It won't be okay Bella," she disagreed. "I'm so worried I can't see you!" she cried, sobbing tearless sobs. She put her head in her hands and gripped her spiky hair with so much force I thought it was going to come out. This was driving her crazy.

I started feeling very sick. I clamped my hand over my mouth. I felt myself being picked up, and the wind blowing through my hair, as someone ran with me at vampire speed.

Next thing I knew I was being violently sick into a toilet. When I was done, I wiped my mouth. I looked up and saw Rosalie towering over me.

"Thank god for vampire speed," I mumbled. She chuckled lightly.

Rosalie helped me make our way back to the lounge. As we passed the stairs, I saw Carlisle coming down them.

"Bella, if it's alright with you, I would like to do an ultrasound," he asked carefully, since Rosalie was with me.

"No!" Rosalie shouted before I could answer.

"Rosalie, it may help," I tried to reason with her.

"It might be a trick," she hissed.

Would it? Is this Carlisle's plan to get me alone so he could kill my baby?

"Rosalie, you're welcome to come as well," Carlisle sighed.

"Will it hurt the baby?" Rosalie demanded.

"It won't, Rosalie," Carlisle answered.

"Bella?" Rosalie asked me.

"I'm fine with it. As long as it doesn't hurt my baby," I decided.

"I assure you, it won't," Carlisle promised. "My office, Rosalie."

Rosalie quickly picked me up and flew me upstairs.

From what I remembered of Carlisle's office, it had completely changed. It looked like an emergency ward set up in the middle of a library. The lights were brilliant and white. There was a hospital bed in the middle of the room, and Rosalie gently laid me down on it. Carlisle came in and wheeled a machine over while taking the seat next to me, on the other side of Rosalie.

Carlisle gently lifted up my shirt. Rosalie gasped when she saw the bruises, but didn't say anything. Carlisle picked up a paintbrush looking thing without the bristles.

"It's going to be a little cold," he warned as he places some gel on the stick.

He lowered it to my stomach. I shivered from the coldness. He moved it all around my belly and looked at the screen.

* * *

**Okay, so a little bit of a cliff hanger!**

**Just to put some of your minds at ease, this isn't going to be another re-write of Breaking Dawn exactly. I know Rose helped her in Breaking Dawn, but without her help in this story, Bella's baby would have been killed, and we don't want that do we? do we? lol  
So tell me what you think, and that you're still interested! Expect another update sometime next week.  
Remember, the more reviews I get, the quicker I write!**

I really like long reviews as well, so don't be afraid to write what you really think of the story! I love it when you comment on certain things that have happened!

**Okay, so I've noticed there's been a lot of story alerts who have not reviewed! ;-) Just kidding, but I do like reviews! If you've read this story and more importantly liked it, please review!!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN/ Hello my wonderful readers!**

**Sorry for the late post. I've been on holiday and just got back recently!  
I've got a lot of people who are missing Edward! I'm sure he will turn his phone on soon *wink, wink!***

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters! Stephenie meyer does!  
A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**_

* * *

_

Previously

_He lowered it to my stomach. I shivered from the coldness. He moved it all around my belly and looked at the screen._

................................................................................................................................................

A crease formed between Carlisle's eyebrows. I instantly panicked. What had he seen? I looked over to the computer, but saw nothing. It was a blank screen. Black.

"What is it?" I gasped.

Carlisle sighed.

"I was half expecting it," he confessed.

_Expecting what?_ I thought. Carlisle continued.

"My guess is that the membrane around the...fetus is more vampire than human. It's like our skin." He moved the paintbrush looking thing away and pressed it against his arm.

"See, exactly the same." He added. He set the stick aside and pulled my t-shirt back down.

"What does that mean?" Rosalie demanded before I got a chance to ask.

"It means I don't think I will be able to get an ultrasonic image." My heart dropped. A silent moment passed, tense and uncomfortable.

"There may be a chance..." I thought I heard him whisper. I guessed I imagined it until Rosalie spoke up.

"What?" she asked desperately.

"I doubt it, but I might be able to get a needle through the amniotic sac," He informed us.

"A needle?" I gasped. Before Carlisle could answer, Rosalie interrupted.

"No!" She yelled.

"It may be the only way," he tried to reason with her.

"Anything that involves needles, I will not allow," she said as a matter-of-fact. I looked down.

I knew Rosalie was protecting my baby, and I was thankful to her for that., but I still felt bad for being rude to Carlisle. I think he sensed that.

"I think that's up to Bella," he insisted. Rosalie let out a low hiss. They both turned to me. I bit my lip. A needle could harm my baby. I wasn't willing to let that happen.

"I'm sorry Carlisle," I sighed. "I don't want to risk it."

"Let me know if you change your mind," he mumbled as he helped me off the table. I saw Rosalie give him a death glare.

"Do you want me to carry you down stairs," Carlisle asked me.

"I'll do it!" Rosalie demanded.

"Can I try?" I asked Carlisle. He seemed unsure at first. But something he saw on my face must have changed his mind. He nodded, although he kept a hold of my arm.

I wobbled out of the office, and made my way down the hall way. Rosalie walked right behind me, not trusting me to not fall over.

We came to the stairs. I stepped a foot out and brought it down on the step. I noticed Carlisle's grip on me tightened a little bit. Balancing, I moved my other foot to do the same. After about three minutes we were near the bottom. There were only two steps left but I was so exhausted. I felt like I had just run a marathon. My legs were starting to give out. Slowly I leant back and sat on the stair.

"You were doing very well," Carlisle said encouragingly. There was still sadness in his voice, although I could tell he was trying to hide it.

I couldn't sit down normally because of my stomach, so I leaned back on the steps. I rested my hand on my belly, closing my eyes. I opened them to see Alice standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Esme and Jasper will be back in fifteen minutes," she said quietly.

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said. She nodded, and headed back into the living room. Carlisle turned his attention back to me.

"I'll carry you the rest of the way," he decided. Before I could refuse he had picked me up. He sat me down on the sofa in the living room and Rosalie sat next to me.

"Would you like to try and eat something? I had Alice pick up some food for you." he asked. I was hungry. But I knew if I ate anything, I wouldn't keep it down for long.

"I don't think there's any point. I'll just be seeing it again." I cringed. He nodded.

My eyes seemed to be shutting on their own, but I tried to keep them open. Suddenly Rosalie was gently pushing me to lie down. I agreed and lied on my side, resting my head on the pillows. I vaguely remember someone putting a blanket over me before I fell asleep.

I woke up to the feeling of a cool hand stroking my hair. I slowly opened my eyes. Esme was sitting on the edge of the sofa, her hand still stroking my hair.

"Esme..." I breathed.

"I'm so sorry, dear," she murmured.

"It's not your fault," I assured her. Why was everyone blaming themselves?

"It's not yours either, dear." I smiled.

"It's no ones," I agreed. I looked over and saw Rosalie sitting on the sofa with my legs in her lap. Another sudden pain hit me in the abdomen again. I clutched my arms around my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut, leaning over the sofa a little.

After about ten slow seconds, the pain started to fade. I opened my eyes again.

Esme and Rosalie were both crouched in front of me.

"I'm okay," I gasped.

Behind them, I saw Carlisle walking in.

"I'm okay. He just kicked again," I tried to assure him. He smiled sadly.

The pain was gone, but now I needed to use the bathroom.

I swung my legs over the side of the sofa, but Carlisle rested his hand on my shoulder.

"I think it's best if you don't walk too much," he instructed. "It will take the strain off of you and the...baby."

"Okay...but I need to use the rest room," I whispered, although I knew they'd all hear me.

"Rosalie will take you up there," he said, glancing at Rosalie. She nodded and picked me up. She ran up the stairs at vampire speed, and stopped at the bathroom door. Once she stopped I struggled to get of her arms. She let me go, and I rushed over the toilet and got sick. When I was done, she handed me a towel. I wiped my mouth.

"I guess you shouldn't go vampire speed anymore," she mumbled. I laughed.

"Maybe not," I agreed. She left while I used the bathroom.

When I came out, she picked me up and walked down stairs at human speed. She set me back down on the sofa, where I had a feeling I'd be spending a lot of time.

* * *

**There's going to be a time gap in the next chapter for reasons which you will understand soon!  
Please tell me that you're still interested!**

**OMG! 31 days to go!!!! (I've already got my tickets! :-) ) AND Just downloaded the soundtrack! It's AWESOME! Muse's track is the best ! *I belong to you***


	11. Chapter 11

**AN/ Chapter 11 up! A huge thank you to all of my readers and and even BIGGER thank you to all my reviewers! I love you guys! lol :-)  
Okay, so I will do all of my talking at the end of the chapter...  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters! Stephenie meyer does.**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

* * *

*One week later*

I was curled up on the sofa in the living room, my legs on Rosalie's lap. The living room looked different now. Metal shutters were drawn in front of every window to stop someone from looking in. As far as Alice's visions were going, no one knew we were back.

And I was becoming considerably worse each day that passed.

Rosalie and Esme never left my side. I knew that if they weren't here, Carlisle would have killed my baby by now.

Although I tried not to think of it too often, Edward had still not made contact. Alice was still having visions of him, but the visions were so scattered that there was no way of tracking him down. Our only hope was that he would switch his phone on and receive the message that Emmett left for him. No one had left another message or even tried to ring him again, only because Alice would see if he turned his phone on. The only piece of information we could rely on was that he got in contact with Carlisle every two weeks or so. The last time that anyone had heard from him was two weeks ago. It was a simple waiting game. Unfortunately at this moment, time was not my friend.

"Bella?" Rosalie asked softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Mmm..." I replied.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" she asked.

Although I hadn't had much time to think about names, it had brush through my mind a few times.

"I've only managed to think of a girl's name," I confessed, having to stop to catch my breath. It had been hard to talk the last day or so. I'd get so out of breath. They patiently waited.

"What about...Renesmee?" It sounded like a question.

"I'm sorry, what was that, dear?" Esme asked.

"Ruh-nez-mee," I panted. "Her...if it's a her...two grandmothers names." I explained. I took a deep breath.

"Renee...and Esme. Too weird?" I asked. I looked over to Rosalie. She smiled at me.

"It's beautiful. One of a kind," she said gently. I looked over to Esme, who looked like she could be crying if it were possible, although she was smiling.

"Bella...thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me," she cried. I smiled at her.

"What if it's a boy?" Rosalie asked.

I had thought of a boy's name. I remember Carlisle telling me how _his_ father's name was the same as his. I had thought about carrying on the tradition. But to call my baby Edward, having to say his name almost every day, would be too painful.

"I can't think of one," I breathed. Knowing both of them would hear.

"What about-" but Rosalie was cut off by my shriek of agony. I clutched my eyes shut and wrapped both my arms around my body as my baby kicked me in the ribs. Through my cries, I heard a crack. I screamed once again when I felt it. I could faintly hear Carlisle telling me to remove my arms, but I couldn't concentrate. All I could feel was pain.

"Bella, let me have a look!" Carlisle demanded.

"Just...hold on...a...second," I gasped. But he didn't wait. I felt myself being picked up and when I opened my eyes, we were in Carlisle's office.

"I heard a crack, Carlisle!" Rosalie shrieked.

"I heard it too, Rosalie. I'm going to take an x-ray," Carlisle tried to say calmly, but I could detect panic behind his voice.

During the x-ray, the pain started to dull, but it never completely went. After the x-ray, Rosalie sat me down on the hospital bed and held my hand while Carlisle looked at the computer screen.

"You have two broken ribs, but they don't seem to have punctured anything," he informed us. "I'll tape them up."

As Carlisle was taping them up, Rosalie wouldn't let go of my hand, worried that if she let go, Carlisle would harm my baby.

"All done," Carlisle announced. "Just let me know if it gives you any trouble."

I nodded. Rosalie picked me up and walked down stairs at human pace. She sat me down on the couch where it seemed most of the family had gathered.

"Bella?" Alice asked.

"It was just a couple of broken ribs...all taped up now...nothing to worry about," I tried to assure her. She had rarely talked to me this past week. She nodded.

"Can you still not see me?" I asked quietly.

"It's becoming clearer. But I can see only minutes into the future, sometimes only seconds with you. It doesn't really help that much," She said obviously frustrated with the situation. "If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't know there was even a...fetus."

"Would you like anything, Bella?" Esme asked, trying to change the subject.

"Umm...a glass of water would be good, thank you," I asked politely.

"Of course, dear," she said while she stood up and ran to the kitchen at vampire speed.

In less than two seconds she was back with a glass of water in her hand.

"Thanks," I muttered when she handed me the glass. I sank back into the cushions.

I had to use both hands when I took a sip, as I was too weak to use only one.

Another little stabbing pain hit me again, but not as bad. I bit my bottom lip and let out a little whimper. Rosalie quickly took the glass out of my hand. After a minute she broke the silence.

"Is it stopping?" she asked worriedly.

"Not really," I gasped. "It's not...too bad...though."

"Carlisle!" she called, louder then was necessary.

In less than a second Carlisle was crouched in front of me.

"Bella, on a scale from one to ten, one being worst, how bad is the pain?" he asked.

"Six...seven maybe...it's not...that bad," I gasped. "I'm just so tired."

"Alice, Emmett." Carlisle demanded. "Bring the hospital bed down here, now."  
Alice and Emmett ran upstairs in a flash.

"Esme, I need you to please move the couch to make room for it," He asked. "I'll be back in a moment." He ran upstairs.

Just then Rosalie picked me up as Esme moved the couch out of the way. Suddenly there was the hospital bed from upstairs being put in the empty space.

Rosalie laid me down in the bed just as Carlisle came down stairs with some tube looking things in his arms along with a long metal pole. He placed them on the table next to the bed as Rosalie hissed.

"Rosalie, this is not the time!" He commanded.

"You will not harm the baby!" She hissed.

_What?_ Was this the plan to bringing the bed down here? To kill my baby?

"Rosalie, the fetus isn't compatible with her body. It isn't allowing her to get the sustenance she needs. Her body is rejecting every form of nutrition. I'm going to try and feed her intravenously," He stated.

"It won't harm the baby?" Rosalie asked for me.

"It won't. If anything, I hope it will help."

"Fine," she huffed.

I looked over and saw Carlisle standing up the metal pole, and connecting an IV bag to it filled with a white fluid.

"Needles," I mumbled.

"I'm sorry, Bella." He said as he took my arm.

I felt a little sting as he put the needle in my hand and wrapped a bandage round it.

"Let's hope that helps," he murmured.

"Thanks, Carlisle," I said a little sleepily.

"Are the pains better?" he asked.

"A bit...they're still there though...I can handle it." I gave a small smile. He didn't return it.

"Can you try and sleep?" he questioned. I nodded weakly. He turned and sat in the chair the other side of the room. I turned to Rosalie.

"Try and get some sleep. I'm not leaving your side," she assured me.

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. Just as I was on the edge of sleep, I was kicked from the inside again. I was too tired to open my eyes, but I couldn't stop myself from letting out a small whimper.

"Shh..." Rosalie hushed me, stroking my hair.

I heard a gasp from the other side of the room. I could sense a slow, tense moment pass.

"Alice? What was the vision?" I heard Carlisle ask.

"It's Edward."

* * *

**AN/ Okay, so some of you may be thinking, "What?!?!" towards the whole Renesmee thing. I know some people wanted it to be different and not use any breaking dawn names. But can I just say, we do not know yet if it's a boy or girl!**

**And yes!!! Alice finally had a vision of Edward! But what about Edward? hmmmm....**

**Please review! And please tell me what you really think of the story/chapter!  
I can't believe how many reviews I've had for this already! Thank you everyone for your support.**

**I do try to reply to every review, but if I don't I'm very sorry!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN/ Hi guys! I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to all of my reviewers! Really, you guys are just great!  
Okay, so a BIG surprise for you in this chapter...I think you'll know what it is in a minute!  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does!**

**I MASSIVE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

* * *

*Edward's POV*

I was driving through the city of Voronezh, Russia. That was all I seemed to do. Drive. Except for the rare occasions where I would have to hunt, which I wasn't doing as much as I should be. At the moment my eyes were black - coal black. My last hunt was three weeks ago, and now my thirst was becoming more uncomfortable. Although, part of me liked the aching burn at the back of my throat. It was something to _distract_ myself with, to try and keep under control.

Although there was never a single second that went by that I didn't think of her. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see her smiling at me in perfect detail. The exact shade of her striking milk chocolate eyes as she looked at me. The beautiful pink flooding to her cheeks as she blushed, standing out on her milky coloured skin.

Sometimes I'd let my mind wonder to that one night before her birthday. I was such an idiot to risk her life like that. Thankfully I didn't harm her, although I couldn't say the same for the pillows. When Jasper had nearly killed her and I'd made the decision to leave, I had realised it would be a much harder task of making her believe that I didn't love her anymore. But she believed me.

_You... don't... want me?_

The words she said cut me every time I thought of them. How could she believe me after all the times I had said that I loved her? And, even after that special night we spent together, she believed me.

It was times like this that part of me was glad I was halfway across the world from her. If I was only minutes away, nothing would stop me from knocking on her door and begging her for forgiveness. But no, I couldn't think like that. She had to have a normal, human life. Without _me_.

I looked out of the window and saw the people as they walked down the street. There was an old looking man sitting on a park bench reading a newspaper. Because of my vampire vision I could clearly read the front page of the paper.

_Was that the date?_ I thought. I'd have to contact Carlisle soon, although all I wanted to do was forget everything. But I owed it to them.

I found the nearest parking space and parked the Volvo. I looked over to the passenger seat where my phone was lying. As I picked it up I couldn't help but remember all the times that she sat in this very seat. I tried to shake it off as I switched the phone on.

As I looked at the screen it said I had 2 missed calls. I sighed when I saw that one was from Carlisle and the other was Emmett. Then I saw that I had an answer phone message.

I eyebrows scrunched together when I thought of who it might be. No one ever left a message on my phone unless it was an emergency...

I pressed the select button and waited for the message.

"Edward, it's Emmett....Listen, we've got an emergency back home...Can you please ring us urgently?" He sounded more frightened than I had ever heard him before. Something must be really wrong. I looked at the screen again. The message was dated just over a week ago. I quickly dialled Emmett's cell phone number. He answered on the first ring.

"Edward, I'll pass you onto Carlisle," he said before I could get a word in.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked. His voice sounded exhausted. Although I knew that was impossible.

"Carlisle, what's the emergency? I just got a message from Emmett saying it was urgent," I asked, unsure.

"Edward, where are you?" he asked carefully.

"I'm sitting in the car...What's going on Carlisle?" I demanded.

"Edward, I need you to come to Forks as soon as possible-" he started, but I interrupted.

"Carlisle!" I shouted. "I told everyone to never go back there!"

"Edward, its Bella," he tried to say calmly.

_Bella? _What had happened? Was this the emergency?

"What about Bella?" I whispered.

"Edward, when we left...none of us knew, but..." he seemed unwilling to say it, whatever _it_ was.

"Just say it, Carlisle," I said, impatient.

"She's pregnant," he admitted.

For a moment I thought I hadn't heard him right. She was pregnant? I _had_ wanted her to have a normal human life. But...she was pregnant. My mind struggled to work. She had found someone so quickly? I bet it was that Mike Newton. I mentally growled his name. But what if it wasn't? Who was the father? And why had she found my family?

"Who's the father?" I asked quietly.

"What?" Carlisle asked confused.

"Who's the father?" I hissed.

"Edward...you are," he said gently.

I was the father...I was the father. No, that was impossible. My mind immediately went to Rosalie, and how, if that were possible, she would have found a way by now.

"Impossible..." I whispered.

"Hang on a second," he said. "Sorry, I didn't want Bella to hear," he confessed a second later.

"She's there?" I gasped.

"She is," he said, but there was something in his voice that I couldn't detect.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Edward...she's in very bad shape. The...fetus is growing too quickly, and is already stronger than she is," he started.

"Well, get it out!" I yelled down at phone without thinking.

"I tried, Edward," he whispered. "Rosalie is helping Bella to protect it...and so are Emmett and Esme."

"Carlisle...you're sure it's mine?" I asked. Although I knew from what he was describing that this wasn't a normal pregnancy.

"I'm afraid so, Edward. I've never seen anything like this before," he said. She was pregnant. And not only that, it was mine. In the background I heard someone whimpering.

"Is that her?" I asked in a broken whisper.

"Yes, that's her...The fetus is kicking her from the inside again...it's already broken two of her ribs."

_Already_ broken two of her ribs? Carlisle was expecting more.

"She hasn't been able to eat anything and keep it down for a while. I'm feeding her intravenously at the moment. I just hope it helps," he said.

"Carlisle, I'm coming back as soon as possible. I'm in Russia at the moment. Please keep me notified of any changes," I asked desperately.

"I will, Edward. And hurry. I honestly don't know how much longer she will last. I'm trying my best, you know that," he whispered.

"Thank you, Carlisle," I said as I pressed the end button and started the car.

Luckily, there was a sign just as I came off the road pointing to an airport. All that ran through my mind was how it was such a mistake to leave her. If I hadn't, maybe I could have convinced her to get rid of that thing before she had time to get attached to it. Which raised the question, how could she get attached to that thing? It was killing her!

It was my fault. My entire fault. I should have kept to my boundaries that night. If I did, she wouldn't be like this. All I could do was hope that she was still alive when I returned home.

* * *

**AN/ Hope you liked this chapter!**

**27 days to go until New Moon! I can't wait! (I actually can't! ) Tickets already booked!**

**And I just got the New Moon Companion book! It's AWESOME! (I think I just like looking at the pretty pictures :-p ) Please review! Reviews make me VERY happy! Honestly, you have no idea! LOL - review?**

**Another big thank you to my beta - Angels of Twilight**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN/ Chapter 13....this is sort of chapter 12 from Bella's POV. Also a little bit after as well...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A Huge thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

_Previously  
"Alice? What was the vision?" I heard Carlisle ask.  
"It's Edward"_

* * *

*Bella's POV*

_Edward...Edward?_ I thought.

I tried opening my eyes, but I could only open them into slits. I managed to lift my head a little, and saw that Jasper had now joined us. Suddenly, I started to feel extremely dizzy from straining my eyes. I gently laid my head back down and closed my eyes. Rosalie started stroking my hair.

"What about Edwa-" I heard Carlisle say before I heard an odd ringing noise which I couldn't detect. The ringing noise cut off, and then I heard Emmett speak.

"Edward, I'll pass you to Carlisle," I heard him say. A quiet sigh of relief escaped my mouth when I heard him say Edward. It really was him.

"Edward?" I heard Carlisle ask. I knew everyone else could probably hear what Edward was saying, but I couldn't. I could feel my heart in my chest beating a little louder though. I started to feel embarrassed as I knew everyone else would hear my heart as well. Waves of calm started to wash over me.

"Thanks…Jasper…" I slurred. I couldn't even hear my own voice. I just hoped that he did. I tried my best to stay awake.

"Edward, where are you?" I heard Carlisle ask. Still stroking my hair, Rosalie took my hand in hers, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Edward, I need you to come to Forks as soon as possible-" he started then I assumed Edward interrupted him. Even I could hear the muffling noises coming from the phone, so I assumed he was shouting. My heart sunk that I knew he was getting angry, and that it was my fault.

"Edward, it's Bella," Carlisle said.

"Edward, when we left...none of us knew, but..." Carlisle seemed unwilling to finish.

"She's pregnant," Carlisle finally admitted. And almost to confirm it, I was kicked from the inside again, although it wasn't painful enough for it to show on my face. Rosalie's grip on my hand suddenly became a little tighter. This was the moment I had been waiting for. Edward finally knew.

"What?" Carlisle asked confused. I heard Rosalie let out a low hiss from beside me.

"Edward...you are," Carlisle said gently. Edward didn't think he was the father. He honestly believed that I had been with someone else so quickly?

"Hang on a second," Carlisle said. I felt a cool breeze brush part me. No, I needed to hear this conversation. Why had he left the room?

"Don't worry Bella," I heard Jasper say. "He just didn't want to upset you."

"Upset…me?" I croaked.

"About your condition," he said calmly.

I thought I knew everything about my condition? Maybe Carlisle just didn't want to upset me by saying it again.

"…Kay" I sighed, allowing my mind to rest to try and unwillingly fell asleep.

Just as I was on the edge of sleep again, when I was kicked hard from the inside. I whimpered loudly.

"Shh…It's okay…" Rosalie hushed me. I felt a cold thumb brushing my cheek. I didn't even realize I was crying. The pain started to dull, and I could hear Carlisle in the room talking to Esme and Alice. I wanted to ask him so many questions, but due to the exhaustion, I fell asleep.

I woke up to the feeling that someone had stabbed me in the side. I immediately shot up, but regretted it when the pain got worse. I screamed out in agony.

"Bella, it's okay. I heard another crack. I need to take out the intravenous drip to take you upstairs," I heard Carlisle say. I could feel the slight sting as he pulled the needle out. I opened my eyes and saw Rosalie carrying me upstairs at vampire speed. Pain was still shooting through me while Carlisle took another X-ray.

After the X-ray was done, I wrapped my arm around me to try and stop the pain. It dulled a little but not much. Rosalie sat me on the examining table.

"Another two broken ribs on the other side," Carlisle announced sadly.

When I was all taped up, the pain was almost gone. It only hurt if I moved suddenly.

Rosalie picked me up carefully and walked downstairs. She laid me on the bed again.

I noticed it was harder to breathe than it was before I fell asleep. Then Carlisle came into the living room.

"It's a bit more…difficult to breathe," I gasped. He smiled sadly at me.

"It's the broken ribs. It was to be expected. Although, if it gets worse, let me know," he asked. I nodded. I was finally glad I was being able to keep my eyes open without them shutting. I suddenly remembered the phone call from before I fell asleep.

"Edward…" I gasped, looking at Carlisle. Carlisle came over and crouched down next to the bed.

"He's coming back," he said warmly.

"How long…" I whispered. Carlisle looked at his watch.

"You were asleep for about five hours," he started. "He'll be about another ten hours or so…" He looked behind me where the intravenous was. I sighed.

"Do you need to put it back in?" I cringed.

"I ran some tests on you while you were sleeping. You're not absorbing it. Your body is rejecting every form of nutrition. I don't know if there's any point." He looked like he was about to say something else, but he stopped.

"What is it?" I asked. He sighed

"It's not just you, Bella, but the fetus as well." He admitted.

"What?" I gasped.

"I'm watching you _and_ the fetus, Bella – starve to death by the hour. I can't stop it."

My baby was being starved to death? I didn't care about me, as long as my baby survived.

"We have to feed him then…" I decided, although it seemed pretty obvious.

"With what?" Carlisle asked. "I don't know what it _wants_."

I turned to Rosalie who had been silent throughout the conversation.

"We'll find something, Bella. Don't worry," she assured me. I nodded slowly. I needed to change the subject.

"What did he say?" I asked Carlisle. He knew who I meant when I said he.

"He's…surprised, I think," He said. "He's mainly worried about you."

"Worried about me?" I gasped. Why would he be worried about me? He left me. He didn't care about me. All I wanted him to do was have the choice to be there for his child.

Carlisle didn't answer so I looked at him.

"I told him about your condition, so of course he'll be worried about you," He said as if it was obvious.

"I guess…" I mumbled, looking down. I rested my hand on my stomach, tracing random circles. I felt a kick against my hand from the inside.

"Stop kicking mummy…" I sighed quietly.

"I'll let you get some rest," Carlisle said as he left the room.

"It's a good thing he's kicking, Bella," Rosalie reasoned with me. "It means he's quite healthy."

I heard Alice sigh from the other side of the room.

"I suppose it is…" I agreed in a scratchy whisper, although I knew that wasn't what Carlisle had said.

"Sleep is the best thing you can do at the moment, Bella," Rosalie noted. I nodded and tried to get settled, closing my eyes. I fell asleep.

I could feel my consciousness coming back to me but I didn't want to wake up. I felt like if I just kept my eyes closed, I would be asleep again in a few minutes. I could just make out the voices of people around me.

"Alice, Edward's arriving in an hour. Please, would you go to Port Angeles?" someone asked.

"Of course," someone else replied, before I heard the noise of a door shutting. Not long after that, I fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

**AN/ I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of my reviewers! You guys are brilliant! I do try to reply to everyone, but if I don't, i'm sorry! I do try!  
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Just review and I'll reply with the best answer I can give! :-)**

**If you have any suggestions for the story, you can also message me as well, or just put it in with the review! Your idea might be put in the story, you never know! xox**

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**AN/ Hello my wonderful readers!  
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A big thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight  
And thanks to my best friend Lydia for her help and advise!**

**Happy Halloween Everyone! So here's a little TREAT for you! :-)**

* * *

*Edward's POV*

It seemed like this was the endless flight. Every second seemed to drag longer and longer as each one passed. Every minute felt like hours. I was sure time was meant to be nothing when you were an immortal. I was certain a lifetime had passed when an announcement was made saying that we were landing in Port Angeles. As I looked out the window I could see the towns which I swore I would never return to again.

Luckily there weren't too many people on this plane. Although if someone walked passed me, the fire at the back of my throat would rise and the monster inside of me would try and take control. These were the times that I wished I had hunted.

I could hear the thoughts of everyone on this plane. They were filled with excitement and wonder of travelling to a different place. Mine, however, were filled with worry, and dread of what I was going to see. Part of my mind tried to reassure me that Bella was probably fine, and all of this was over-exaggerated. But unfortunately, I knew Carlisle very well. And I knew he would never do that, and that what he said was the truth. What he described to me haunted me throughout the entire trip, and the fear that when I finally got to her, she would be worse, made it even more excruciating.

When the plane finally landed, moving faster than I should have been, I was the first one to get off. I made it through all of the agonizingly slow security tests and finally stepped foot into the airport, where I finally saw the pixie face of my little sister.

Even she looked exhausted, but as soon as she met eyes with me, relief washed over her face.

"Edward!" she cried running over to me at human speed, wrapping me in a tiny hug.

"We've all missed you so much!" she said as she pulled away.

"I've missed you all too...how is she?" My voice broke at the end. Alice's thoughts immediately went to Bella. She was in the living room, or what I thought was the living room. It looked so different. Bella was lying on a bed in the middle of the room with an IV attached to her. I couldn't see her clearly as she was lying down. But all my fears were confirmed when I saw the balloon shaped bump that was her stomach. Alice stopped there in her thoughts, and I could now see my horror-struck face in her mind.

"No..." I gasped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see that," she admitted.

I looked towards the exit.

"Let's go," I said, running, again, probably a little faster than a human was capable of.

Alice had parked Carlisle's Mercedes almost right outside the airport doors. I was about to question her, but then I saw the clouds starting to move and the sun breaking through them.  
_I had a vision, and it also saves us a little bit of time, _Alice thought. I smiled slightly.

I opened the car door and got in. Alice started the car, and we headed off in the direction of Forks.

Although Alice was driving twice the speed limit, it still wasn't fast enough. We were in Port Angeles, while Bella was dying.

"I'll get you to Bella as soon as possible," she said, sensing my anxiety.

"Why didn't you see this happening?" I demanded.

"Edward, I can't see her at this moment! It's the...fetus. It's like a bad reception on a TV!" she shrieked.

I had always relied on Alice's visions. And now they were of no help since she couldn't see Bella. What was this _thing_ inside of Bella?

I was about to ask how Bella found them, but Alice had already had a vision of me asking.

"She heard on the radio that there was an over population of grizzly bears in Mount Rainier. Her mind immediately went to Emmett. She said something about the word irritable." She shrugged.

"So, she went there and called out Emmett's name. Emmett only heard-" she cut off mid-sentence. She was distracting her thoughts with something about shopping.

"When Emmett heard what?" I asked, irritated.

"Her scream," she reluctantly said. "She was kicked from the inside and Emmett found her curled up on the floor."

I tried to stay calm. I looked out the window and noticed we were in Forks.

Alice turned off at our driveway and sped down it.

As soon as I saw the house, I opened the car door and ran at vampire speed to the front door of the house. Carlisle was standing just inside the door.

"Edward, thank you for coming. We all missed you," he greeted me.

"Where is she-" I was cut off when I heard a whimper from the living room. I ran past Carlisle and into the living room. It was very much the same as Alice's vision, except the IV wasn't connected to Bella...Bella.

Bella was curled up on the sofa facing me, her arms wrapped around her stomach. She was sleeping. There were dark circles under her eyes that stood out because of her whiter-than-usual complexion. Her face looked thinner, much thinner. Her skin seemed all tight – like her cheekbones might break through it. My eyes moved down and I caught site of her stomach. I had seen her stomach in Alice's thoughts, but her stomach looked...bigger. When Carlisle said the fetus was growing quicker than normal, I didn't think he meant this quick. Her heartbeat sounded odd. Her heartbeat throbbed and faltered, which made my dead heart sink.

I knelt down at her side. My thirst threatened to take over when her scent hit me. I held my breath for a few moments to control it.

"Bella..." I sighed. "I'm so, so sorry." I heard Rosalie hiss quietly.

"Nice to see you, too, Rosalie," I said quietly.

_Don't you even think of harming this baby! _Rosalie spat in her thoughts.

"Rosalie, it's _killing_ her!" I hissed.

_I made a promise to Bella._

"What promise? You don't even like her."

_A promise to protect her baby. Carlisle wanted to remove him._

"Him?" I gasped.

_We don't know. The ultrasound didn't work. It's a little mystery. And why do you care about her? You left her, remember?_

"I left her because I loved her Rosalie! I still do. And it's not a mystery, it's a monster!" I spat. "I don't care what you promised her. I'm getting that thing out of her before it can do anymore harm!"

_We'll just see about that._

Bella's eyelids started fluttering, but they did not open. She whimpered a little and clutched her stomach with more force. Doing so brought the sweatshirt she was wearing up a little bit. Her stomach was a mixture of black and purple. I gasped.

_He's just a little strong, that's all._

Bella's eyes started to slowly open. She squinted and saw me in front of her.

"Edward...?" she said in a hoarse voice.

"It's me Bella," I said taking her hands in mine.

"I'm...sorry," she said in a scratchy whisper.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked.

"For making you come all the way back here," she panted.

"Bella, you didn't make me. I chose to come back. And it should be me who's apologising. I'm so sorry." I was apologising for a lot of things. I placed one of my hands on her cheek, holding both of her hands in one.

She cringed and I immediately dropped my hands. She leant back until she was flat on her back, her head facing me.

"It wasn't...you....I was just a bit...uncomfortable," she whispered.

"Bella, why are you doing this to yourself? Please, let Carlisle help you," I pleaded. She shook her head.

"I won't kill him." She sounded like she had said the same words over and over again.

I looked over to Rosalie who was glaring at me. I looked back down at Bella.

"_You_ won't," I whispered.

"What?" she gasped, Rosalie hissed.

I stood up and ran upstairs at vampire speed into Carlisle's office. I didn't bother knocking on the door.

"Carlisle, we need to get that thing out of her!" I yelled.

"Edward, calm down."

"It's killing her," I sobbed tearless sobs, crashing to my knees, burying my head in my hands. Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, son."

"I should have never left," I continued to sob. "I still love her!"

"I know you do," Carlisle whispered.

I looked up, and noticed now that his office had completely changed. It looked like an emergency ward.

"What is that thing doing to her?" I asked, getting to my feet.

"It's not compatible with her body. She's not getting the sustenance she needs. The intravenous wasn't doing any good. I'm watching the fetus starve to death, as well. I can't do anything to stop it. I can't figure out what it _wants_." His weary voice broke at the end.

He didn't know what _it_ wanted. It was a monster, just like me for doing this to her. It probably had the same diet as me.

"What do you think it wants...?" I spat. Carlisle looked at me confused "...Blood." The disgust was evident in my voice.

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**AN/ 20 days to go until NEW MOON! YAY!  
Please review and tell me what you think!**

**I was thinking about using the idea of Edward suggesting the blood. AND I got a review saying it as an idea.  
****So thank you spartangirl03!  
Please Review!**

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN! BOO!!!!! :-D**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN/ I'm so sorry for the long wait and that I left you guys hanging! This is a longer chapter than usual to make up for it? Deal?  
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A Huge thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

**And thanks to my Best friend and co-writer on this chapter, Lydia.**

* * *

Previously

"What do you think it wants...?" I spat. Carlisle looked at me confused "...Blood." The disgust was evident in my voice.

* * *

*Edward's POV*

Carlisle's thoughts were blank for a fraction of a second as he processed what I had just said.

_It's an interesting idea, but will it work?_ Carlisle thought.

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled, smashing my fist into the wall and leaving a dent. "You're not going to get a chance to see if it works or not, because I'm getting that thing out of her. And no member of this family, including Rosalie, is going to stop me." Carlisle placed a restraining hand on my shoulder.

_You need to keep your voice down._

"Why should I?" I spat. The love of my life was slowly dying down stairs, and all Carlisle could think about was keeping my voice down. He obviously didn't care about my wishes and feelings or he would have gotten that thing out of her by now!

_Because Bella will hear you if you continue to shout like this. And in her current condition, we need to keep her stress to a minimum._

I closed my eyes and took an unnecessary shaky breath. I had to calm myself down for Bella. Although I had been to medical school twice and was capable of performing the procedure by myself, I didn't want to risk anything going wrong with Bella. And what if the call for Bella's blood was stronger than my control? Even if I did feed I knew I still wouldn't be able to resist. I needed Carlisle's help.

I opened my eyes and looked Carlisle in the eye.

"I need your help, Carlisle," I whispered. "I can't watch Bella die in front of me, especially knowing it's all my fault."

_It's not your fault. None of us knew that this would happen. I didn't think to warn you. _

"Are you going to help me?" I asked irritated. Carlisle sighed.

_I can't ignore Bella's will. It wouldn't be right to make such a choice for her, to force her._

My dead heart sank. He was my only hope, and he wasn't going to help me.

"You're going to let her die," I stated.

_I will do everything in my power to ensure that doesn't happen._

"It's not enough!" I whispered, anguished.

Why would Bella endanger her life like this? I didn't think she wanted children as she was always begging me to change her. Maybe she thought she could still have children even if she was immortal.

How could I be so stupid? I left to protect her, remove her from any possible connection of my world. Instead, I brought her closer to it than I thought possible. My voice became low and forlorn as I had a revelation.

"Carlisle, she's keeping it because of me, isn't she?"

_I believe that it was part of the reason._

I nodded slowly. If I was there from the beginning, and never left, I could have made her see sense.

_But she's grown attached to it now. I don't believe you will be able to talk her out of such a big decision._

Using my fist again, I made another dent in the wall to vent my anger.

_Please, Edward. You need to control your anger. Bella doesn't need this right now. I know all she wants is to be with you and your baby, as a family. Now pull yourself together and go and spend some time with your soul mate. We don't know how much longer she will last. So grant her this wish._

Carlisle placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Do you think she will survive?" I didn't want to know the answer.

_I think it's an even chance at this moment. Although I strongly believe she won't survive this human, _he thought sadly.

His thoughts drifted to Bella, cold, white with crimson eyes. I cringed and went on to my next question. I had to accept that Bella may not be human for much longer. I needed to help Bella get through this.

"How are you going to help her?" I asked in a broken whisper.

_Your idea about the fetus's diet seems interesting. We have some spare blood that we were keeping for Bella, just in case._

"How are you going supply the…fetus with the blood?" I asked. It would be hard calling the thing that was killing Bella a baby.

_I don't think we will have enough time to come up with something creative. I think the best way is for Bella to have it. Then hopefully the fetus will also receive it._

I was horror-struck. Carlisle's thoughts became pictures as he confirmed what he had just said. Bella drinking the blood.

"You're going to make her _drink_ it?" I said somewhat disgusted.

_I believe it's the simplest way._

I was speechless, I couldn't think of anything to say. I saw my sickened expression in Carlisle's thoughts.

_What if it helps her? _He thought, trying to persuade me. I nodded.

"Can I just…have a moment with her, to apologize?" I needed to apologize for a lot of things.

_Of course, if you could suggest the idea of the blood?_

I nodded, took a deep breath, and composed myself for the journey ahead. I murmured a thank you to Carlisle and sped down stairs to the side of my fragile Bella.

She looked…frightened. She was lying on her side facing me hugging her stomach. Rosalie was crouched over her protectively and Esme was sitting on a chair that had been pulled up to Bella's bedside. I nodded towards Esme.

_You are not going to harm this baby, _Rosalie snarled in her thoughts.

"I'm not Rosalie," I murmured. "Can I please talk to Bella alone?"

Rosalie hissed. I sighed.

"You're welcome to wait outside," I said looking at Esme as well.

Rosalie looked at Esme confused then to Bella.

"It's okay Rose…" Bella slurred, but then her forehead creased. "Could you wait outside the door though?" Even Bella didn't trust me. I looked down.

Esme stroked Bella's hair before turning to leave the room. She touched my shoulder before she left. Rosalie was still unwilling to leave, her thoughts were uncertain. I gestured towards the door.

_I'll be listening, s_he warned before she left. I closed the door. I sat in the chair next to Bella. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, worry still present in them. I didn't know what to say.

"I'm not going to hurt you…or the baby," I said. She relaxed a little. We stared at each other for a few moments.

"I'm sorry," I started, slowly taking one of her hands in mine. She looked confused. "For leaving you…and for leaving you like this," I glanced at her stomach, then back to her face. "And for lying," I murmured.

"Lying?" she gasped. I nodded slowly.

"What I said that day in the forest," she cringed, "was all a lie," I said. She looked even more confused.

"I never stopped loving you Bella, I left to protect you. With what happened on your birthday…" We both grimaced. "I realized that it was too dangerous for you to be around my kind." She shook her head gently.

"But you said…" she slurred.

"Bella, everything I said that day was a lie, the biggest lie I have ever told. I still love you and I promise to never leave you again…I just need to know if you feel the same way about me…" I asked gently.

"The way I feel about you hasn't changed, and never will…" she spoke slowly.

"Thank you," I murmured. I slowly leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. My thirst threatened to take over so I quickly leant back.

"You're thirsty," Bella guessed, obviously seeing my black eyes.

"I haven't been hunting as much as I should be," I confessed.

Bella gasped suddenly as her back arched backwards, squeezing her eyes shut. I could tell she was trying to hold back a scream. After a few moments she relaxed and returned to lying on her side.

"Bella…" I asked worriedly.

"He was just…stretching…he's just a little bit big." She shrugged. I suddenly remembered.

"I've thought of something that may help the…baby," I said. She looked hopeful. "Carlisle and I think that he may have the same diet as our kind…" I chose my words carefully to not upset her.

"Blood…" she gasped. I nodded sadly.

"Carlisle will be down in a minute with some…we were wondering if you'd be willing to-"

"Drink it," Bella interrupted. I nodded again.

"I know it's a horrible thing to ask…" I whispered.

"But it will help," she said hopefully.

"I hope so." I held my breath and leant in to kiss her forehead. I heard the door open, and caught Carlisle's scent as he walked in the room.

My thirst suddenly flared as I smelt blood. I clamped my hand over my mouth and nose and stopped breathing, closing my eyes.

Carlisle's thoughts became apologetic as he left the room. He returned again, this time without the cup of blood.

I opened my eyes and saw that Carlisle had pushed my chair a little away from Bella and was standing in front of me.

"Edward?" he asked carefully. I removed my hand and took a careful breath. I nodded to assure him that I was in control.

"You need to hunt," Carlisle insisted. I looked behind him and saw Rosalie talking to Bella, explaining what had just happened.

"I'm not leaving her," I stated. There was no way I was going to leave her, even for fifteen minutes. Every second counted at the moment.

_Edward, in the near future I can almost guarantee that there will be a lot of blood with Bella. _Carlisle thought sadly.

"If she improves, I will," I allowed.

_Will you be alright while Bella attempts to drink some blood?_

"I'll hold my breath," I said. Carlisle left the room and I took a deep breath and held it. He returned with the cup of blood. I was sitting about 5 feet from where Bella was, but I couldn't afford to lose control.

I watched as Rosalie helped Bella sit up, supporting her back with some pillows. Carlisle handed Bella the cup which she took with both hands. She sniffed the straw and grimaced. I wanted to tell her that she didn't need to do this, but she needed to. It was her…our only hope.

She put the straw in her mouth and sucked. I saw the blood travel up the straw. After a few slurps she removed the straw. She looked at me and must have seen the worry on my face.

"It tastes…good," she assured me. It tasted good? This was the girl who almost fainted at school because someone pricked their finger.

"That's excellent," Rosalie assured her when I didn't.

Bella continued to finish the whole cup before she handed it back to Carlisle.

"Do you want some more?" Rosalie asked eagerly.

"Umm…sure," Bella answered. I looked towards Carlisle.

"Maybe we'll see how that goes down first," Carlisle said. He quickly left with the cup and I was free to breathe again. I stood up and kneeled at Bella's bedside.

"How do you feel?" I asked placing a hand on her cheek.

"Better," she smiled. She did look better. A normal human wouldn't notice but her cheeks were slightly more flushed than they were, and her eyes were brighter.

"I'm glad," I said as I kissed her other cheek.

"You need to hunt," Bella said as I pulled away.

"When you get better, I will," I promised. I pulled the chair up from behind me, placed it next to Bella, and sat in it. Rosalie's thoughts were smug.

I took both of Bella's hands in mine and gave them a reassuring squeeze. I could sense someone behind me so I turned my head. Alice was standing in the doorway with a sad smile on her face. I nodded towards her and turned my attention back to Bella.

I heard Alice gasp, and her vision entered my mind.

* * *

**AN/ Review? **

**9 days to go until New Moon! *Jumping up and down clapping hands together* Any one else excited? Hands up! LOL**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN/ Hello my wonderful readers! I am so, so, so sorry for the late post! Really, really bad writers block on this one, and it was also going through a plot change in my head. I'd like to say a huge thank you to all my reviewers! You guys really helped me!**

**I want to try an experiment! Can everyone who reads this chapter, please review? Let's see if we can get over 250 reviews? If we do, I'll post the next chapter really quick, I promise!  
Anyway, I'll do most of my talking at the end of the chapter!**

**A huge thank you to my two best friends, Lydia-Black and Sxcpeach101 for helping me on this chapter, along with all their support!  
And a huge thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the Characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**_

* * *

_

Previously...

_I heard Alice gasp, and her vision entered my mind._

* * *

*Edward's POV*

_It was a dark night. A red-headed female was crouching on the grass outside, looking at something with her dark crimson eyes. She suddenly pounced and scaled the house she was looking at. She opened a window on the second floor and leaped through it. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that the bed in the room was empty. There was a light snore from somewhere in the house and the woman's head shot up. She sped towards the direction of the snore and opened the door. She watched as the man, sleeping in the bed rolled onto his side. She crouched into a hunting position and pounced towards the man, sinking her teeth into his neck._

The vision ended, and I looked down and saw Bella with her eyes closed. Her breathing hitched at times, but was calmer. She was sleeping. I whipped my head around and looked at a horror-struck Alice.

"When?" I mouthed.

_Tomorrow night._

_What's wrong?_ Rosalie thought.

"Keep an eye on Bella," I asked Rosalie quickly, removing my hands gently from Bella's. I sped up the stairs and into Carlisle's office with Alice following behind me.

"Is everything okay with Bella?" Carlisle asked aloud since Alice was with me.

"She's asleep, but she's the same otherwise," Alice answered speedily. Carlisle's thoughts became confused.

"Alice had a vision." My voice was panicked. "Do you remember the woman, Victoria?" Carlisle nodded.

"She's after Bella!" Alice cried before I had a chance to explain. Carlisle's thoughts became shocked, but then went to Victoria and her coming to our house.

_If she's coming to our house, we need to move Bella somewhere safer. _

Victoria had gone to a lot of trouble to find Bella. Would she stop at just her house? Alice would see if she was determined to find her and come to our house. I decided to clarify Alice's vision to Carlisle.

"Alice had a vision of Victoria at Bella's house tomorrow night. She's going to kill Charlie when she doesn't find Bella." I tried my best to keep my voice calm. Carlisle's thoughts went over several plans before he settled on one.

"Edward, Bella is safe here and no one will harm her. However, we need to protect Charlie. I want you, Emmett, and Jasper to go and stop Victoria. I will stay here and look after Bella."_I don't relish killing another creature. Even a sadistic one like Victoria, _Carlisle added in thought.

I didn't want to leave Bella, but I didn't want to let my brothers go and fight without my help. Victoria was a dangerous fighter. Lethal.

"You will look after her?" I asked, although I knew he would.

"You have my word." He looked towards Alice, then me. "You must not utter a word of this to Bella. Any amount of stress will make this considerably worse for her."

I didn't want to keep secrets from Bella, especially since I was trying to regain her trust again, but I didn't want to make her worse by putting extra stress on her shoulders.

"I will notify the rest of the family," Carlisle murmured. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice nod and turn to go downstairs. Carlisle could tell I wasn't finished talking. I had always relied on Alice's visions, but since Bella was now a loop hole in them, I couldn't fully trust them as much as I used to.

"Bella is an exception to Alice's visions at the moment," I murmured quietly. "What if Victoria gets around them and comes here?"

_I see your point, but if Victoria came here, it would be in one of our futures._

"I'm not going to risk it," I stated. "Until tomorrow I want someone on constant alert."

_As well as going with you tomorrow, I'm sure Emmett and Jasper will go on alert, although they will need to hunt before then._

I knew they were slightly thirsty as I had been hearing their thoughts, especially Jasper with having a human in the house. But I only needed them for a couple more days. Surely they could last a little longer. I thought Emmett had hunted when he…found Bella.

"They'll last a couple more days. I need them both here to help protect Bella."

_They need to hunt to keep up their strength to defeat Victoria, and so do you._

I sighed. I needed all of their strength to help me kill this Victoria. And hunting was the only way to do that.

"Fine," I huffed. "But I'm staying here."

_If you think that's best._

"When we're finished with Victoria, then I'll hunt," I clarified.

_Be careful when you go._

"I will…" I murmured, turning on my feet and running down the stairs and into the living room. Bella was still sleeping with Rosalie at her side. Everyone else was out of the room.

_Are you going to tell me or not? _Rosalie demanded in thought.

"Carlisle will," I whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. I wasn't going to risk Bella hearing anything. I sat down in the chair next to Bella.

"Rosalie?" I heard Alice ask from the doorway. "Carlisle's holding a family meeting in his office."

"Is _he_ coming?" Rosalie snarled, gesturing towards me.

"No," I said.

"Then me neither," she growled. _This is a trick I know it. Send all of us up stairs so you can harm the baby._

I sighed in frustration.

"I wouldn't do that to Bella. I'm trying to regain her trust, not destroy it." Her eyes narrowed.

_I will be listening, _she vowed as she walked towards the door. She and Alice both headed upstairs towards where the rest of the family was.

Bella's eyelids started fluttering.

"Shh…" I hushed, gently brushing her hair with my hand. "Go back to sleep."

Nevertheless she opened her eyes, looked at me, and smiled. I couldn't help but give a little smile back myself. I tried to ignore the massive balloon that was her stomach.

"How are you feeling?" I whispered. She seemed to think for a second.

She smiled even more and said, "Better."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled a bit more. It seemed that blood was what the fetus wanted. From the first moment I fell in love with her, I always considered it to be a nightmare, her drinking blood and being one of us. But it was necessary to keep her alive now, so I had to think of it differently.

_Victoria's coming to Forks?_

_We should have never stopped looking for her._

_We get to fight something! Finally!_

_Poor Bella…_

The thoughts of my family made me frown slightly. I heard the light footsteps of them coming downstairs.

_I do need to hunt badly. It's hard living with a human in the house, _Jasper thought.

_I can't wait to get back and fight Victoria! _Emmett thought.

"Don't let anyone see you, and be quick." I said at vampire speed so Bella wouldn't hear. The door shut.

"What was that?" Bella asked, obviously seeing my lips move quickly. I didn't want to lie to her, so I kept to the truth as much as I could.

"Emmett and Jasper are just going hunting," I said, shrugging.

"Go," Bella insisted. I shook my head.

"Not today, but I will soon," I promised. Bella sighed.

"Is everything else okay?" she asked, sensing something wasn't right. My mouth pulled down at the edges when she said is everything _else _okay, as she wasn't.

"Everything's fine," I lied. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. I needed to change the subject.

_I wonder if Bella would be willing to try and drink some more blood, _I heard Carlisle think from upstairs. _Edward, I'll be bringing some down in a few minutes._

I decided I might as well ask Bella.

"Did you want to try and drink some more…" I couldn't say it. It felt wrong asking the love of my life to drink something that was so vile. Knowing what I was asking, Bella nodded.

"And maybe try something to eat. You must be starving," I said.

"I am," she admitted, one side of her mouth pulling up into a half smile. I caught Rosalie's scent as she walked into the room. Her thoughts were filled with hate for Victoria.

"Rosalie?" I asked politely, never taking my eyes off Bella. "Could you please ask Esme if she could whip up some food for Bella?"

_Food? She must be feeling better… _Rosalie thought. She nodded and turned to go upstairs and find Esme. Bella was still looking up at me, smiling slightly.

Esme's thoughts went over several recipes before she settled for cooking an omelet. Rosalie returned to the room, sitting on the sofa which was a few meters away from Bella, and picked up a magazine.

_I love my momma. I'm happy._

I jumped out of the chair I was sitting in, sending it flying back, crashing and smashing against the wall behind me. Rosalie leaped from the sofa and crouched protectively over Bella, growling. Bella was staring at me wide-eyed, looking frightened. Was I finally hearing Bella's thoughts? I didn't recognize the voice.

"What were you just thinking about?" I choked out, looking at Bella. Her forehead became creased.

"Nothing…what's wrong?" she asked, still looking frightened. Had I imagined it? No, I was sure I had heard something. I looked behind me and saw the rest of my family had gathered behind me, except for Emmett and Jasper.

"Think of something…anything!" I asked. I waited for something to enter my mind…nothing.

_Edward? _Carlisle asked carefully. I shook my head, trying to clear my head.

"I don't understand…What's wrong?" Bella asked.

_I like momma's voice._

My eyes zeroed in on her stomach. Was I hearing the fetus's voice? No, not voice - thoughts? I took a step forward, and knelt by Bella and took an unnecessary breath. I gently laid both of my hands on her stomach. I heard Bella gasp along with my family.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked aloud to get my attention.

"I think I can hear his…or her…thoughts…" I said, not quite believing it myself. The voice didn't seem to be male or female. Maybe because it hadn't talked yet and heard its own voice, he or she didn't know either.

_Who's that other person's voice…I like it. I love my momma._

"You can hear him?" Bella gasped. I looked up and saw Bella, with wonder written all over her face. I nodded slowly.

"He loves you." I smiled. She smiled back, placing a hand on her belly on top of mine.

"It's a boy?" she asked gently.

"I don't know…" I shook my head. I held my breath and leaned in, kissing her forehead.

_This is great news. Maybe we will be able to communicate with the child, _Carlisle mused.

_I'm so pleased for them both…Umm…Her omelets getting cold... _Esme thought.

"Still hungry?" I asked. She nodded. Esme walked over and handed Bella the plate along with a fork, touching her shoulder as she left.

Bella began eating, and my family apart from Rosalie left to give us some privacy.

_I'll come back a little bit later to see if she would like to drink some more blood. _Carlisle thought as he left.

I took a different chair, since the previous one was smashed and placed it next to Bella, and sat in it. I placed one hand on her stomach, gently rubbing soothing circles with my thumb. This child loved Bella, and it wasn't his fault that Bella was like this. He truly loved Bella. A few minutes later Bella finished eating and handed me the plate with the fork balanced on top. The fork tipped over the edge of the plate, I grabbed it before it hit the ground but Bella had already shot up in the bed.

_Ouch! Why did she move so quickly?_

Bella's face scrunched up as she was kicked from the inside. Quickly I dropped the plate to the floor and rubbed the spot where he had kicked Bella. Rosalie was stroking Bella's hair. A few moments later Bella relaxed a little.

"You just startled him…" I murmured.

"Sorry, baby," she cooed as she rubbed her belly. She gently laid back and her eyelids started drooping.

"Go to sleep…I'm here," I murmured. She nodded gently and closed her eyes. I started to hum her lullaby. When her breathing rate calmed and she was asleep, I let her lullaby fade to a stop.

Then I heard a familiar, but unwelcome thought. _Victoria will be pleased…_

I drew in a sharp breath.

"Get Bella out."

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**AN/ Cliff hanger, I know! I'm bad....;-)**

**Wasn't New Moon just BRILLIANT! I've seen it twice so far...! :-) I won't spoil it for people who haven't seen it yet, but if you would like someone to talk to about New Moon, feel free to message me on Fanfiction.**

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****My username is - HollySACullen  
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**I hope you're still enjoying the story, please review and let me know that you're still interested.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN/ Hey guys! Chapter 17!**

**We beat the target of 250 reviews with 252 reviews! I love you guys so much! Okay, so the target this time is 280 reviews! Remember, yours counts!  
So right now I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You guys were great!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does. I simply like to play with them!**

****

I'd like to say thank you to my best friend Lydia-Black for helping me on this chapter.

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight.**

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_Previously__  
_Then I heard a familiar, but unwelcome thought. _Victoria will be pleased…_  
I drew in a sharp breath.  
"Get Bella out."

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Rosalie's head snapped up from her magazine and she stared wide-eyed at me for an eighth of a second. Her thoughts were a mixture of confusion and shock at my sudden change in attitude.

I suddenly saw Alice's vision in my head as she was seeing it. Although it was nothing that I didn't know already from hearing his thoughts, it still made my anger flare like an erupting volcano. Why hadn't she seen this earlier? Why was she only seeing this now?

From the sound of the thought and from Alice's vision, it seemed we only had a matter of minutes before he reached our house. I needed to warn Carlisle, but first I had to take care of Bella. She was my first priority.

I got up from the seat and reached for the blanket draped over the couch. I held it for a fraction of a second taking in Bella's scent. I embraced the burn at the back of my throat which was caused by my thirst. I was afraid if anything went wrong in the meeting with him, I may not see her again. I carefully laid it on top of Bella, careful not to wake her. By this time, Rosalie was standing next to Bella's bed.

I couldn't believe I let Emmett and Jasper go hunting. A vampire who was potentially dangerous was going to be coming to our house. Not only that, the love of my existence was here, clinging desperately to her life. I had to get Bella as far away from the house as possible safely. And without her waking up and finding out the truth of what was happening.

"Rosalie," I said, at vampire speed. If Bella was awake, she wouldn't know what we were talking about. Hopefully the rest of the family would hear as well. "We've only got two minutes at the most so I need you to do exactly what I say without question." I didn't give her a chance to reply. "Laurent is coming to our house. I don't know why, but we need to get Bella out of here. Now."

_Laurent…?_ She growled lightly. _Why is he here?_ Rosalie thought to herself as she gently picked up Bella, careful not to wake her. From the sound of my family's thoughts, they heard too.

"Go out the back door. Take her far enough so he won't be able to hear or smell her." I looked down at Bella, her eyelids were fluttering slightly. "Don't utter a word of this to her. Lie if you have to." I looked up at Rosalie.

"Be careful with her." I asked in a hushed whisper.

Rosalie nodded and ran at vampire speed out the back door and towards the forest that surrounded our house. I watched her run, knowing that she would take care of the precious bundle in her arms. I turned back and saw that Carlisle, Esme and Alice had all gathered in the living room.

"How far away is he?" Carlisle asked.

"Forty seconds." Both Alice and I said in unison. I looked at Alice.

"Why didn't you see this sooner?" I demanded, balling my hands into fists.

"I don't know!" she shrieked. "It's like he appeared from thin air, like he came out of nowhere."  
I suddenly felt guilty for snapping at her, it wasn't her fault. I knew her gift wasn't perfect. I ran a hand through my tousled hair, trying to think logically and calmly.

"I heard his thoughts…Victoria will be pleased." I said, imitating his voice.

_They're in this together…_Alice thought.

"Is Victoria with him?" Carlisle asked aloud, I shook my head.

The whole room remained silent. The quiet was horrible, it allowed me to think and get angry. Suddenly I had to break the unendurable silence.

"Why?" I shouted. "What has Bella done to deserve this?" Carlisle placed a restraining hand on my shoulder.

"We need to keep out voices low," Carlisle whispered, turning his head towards Esme and Alice. "Laurent may be able to hear us."

"What do we do?" Esme asked.

_Hmmm…There's a possibility that he may have picked up Emmett and Jasper's scents._

"No harm will come to Bella from Laurent if he doesn't know she's here. I don't know for sure what he's doing here. When we find out, I'll make an excuse for us, or him to leave. I need you all to cooperate." Esme and Alice nodded. Since I could read Carlisle's thoughts, he could still communicate with me while Laurent was here if he needed too.

"Where is he now?" Carlisle asked me. I tuned into his thoughts. All I could see was trees, and our house in the distance.

"Our house is in his view. He's not thinking anything of significance," I replied quietly, since he was in hearing range. Carlisle picked up on this. I looked towards the front door.

Carlisle looked in the same direction as me and composed his features. He headed over towards the door and opened it.

"Laurent, what a pleasant surprise!" Carlisle greeted him politely. "What brings you here?"

"I was in the neighborhood. I decided to come by for a visit. I hope I've caught you at a good moment," Laurent replied, stepping inside the house.

_I wonder if the human girl is here…. _Laurent mused in thought. I had to stop myself from growling. Carlisle left the door open. Laurent nodded to the remainder of my family. I mentally sighed when I saw his red eyes. I was half expecting it when he told us he was going to live with the Denali Coven, that he would find it hard sticking to the diet. Carlisle seemed to have the same thoughts as me.

_It seems he's not sticking to the same diet as us. I'll tell him we were going to go hunting._

"Unfortunately, my family and I were about to go hunting," Carlisle replied. Laurent sighed, but when he took a breath to answer, something caught his attention. I tried to keep my breathing even to not give away how anxious I was.

_Human. A familiar scent, as well…Ahhh, their little human pet, Bella…I don't see her though…_

I panicked. How stupid had I been, not to cover up her scent somehow. He was bound to ask questions now.

He was still for a moment, his thoughts blank.

"That's too bad, I had just hunted myself," Laurent replied, smiling slightly.

_Maybe she is at her house…I need to think of a way for me to keep them talking._

"I thought I should warn you," he started. "On my way here I came across three wolves, although I managed to outrun them. But it was when I was nearing your house they retreated. I apologize for nearly leading them here." His thoughts seemed to focus around three horse-sized wolves. A black one, a silver one and a brown one. I looked towards Carlisle and he met my gaze for a quarter of a second. Was it possible they were the same ones from when we first made the treaty with the Quileute tribe? Or maybe another generation?

I noticed that it had started raining outside and my thoughts immediately went to Bella. She didn't like the wet or cold, especially not in the state she's in. I hoped Rosalie had found shelter somewhere.

"Thank you for the warning," Carlisle replied politely. "We appreciate it."

Laurent nodded and casually looked around the room before he settled on me.

"How is your little human friend?" He sounded like he didn't really care for the answer, although his thoughts didn't say the same thing.

_Lie. _Carlisle thought.

"She's fine, thank you for asking." I replied in a tight voice. He smiled back at me.

_I'll have to alert __Victoria__ that the human girl is most likely at her house._

"I think I will go now…I hope the wolves aren't too much trouble," Laurent sighed.

"Yes…" Carlisle replied.

"Thank you for introducing me to the Denali coven," Laurent said. "I like Tanya very much."

"I'm glad," Carlisle replied, keeping his sentence short to give Laurent the hint.

"Farewell," Laurent said, as he left the house running at vampire speed. As soon as Carlisle shut the door, I sped through the house and out the back door. I couldn't see Rosalie or Bella anywhere. I looked up into the sky and watched as the raindrops continued to fall. Already, my clothes were damp.

"Rosalie!" I yelled.

_I'm coming. _I heard Rosalie think. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Rosalie running towards us in the distance with Bella in her arms. In five seconds she was by my side. I looked at Bella and saw she was shivering. She was drenched from the rain. I mentally cursed. I held out my arms and Rosalie handed Bella over to me, I felt relieved to have her close to me again. I ran as fast as I could into the house.

_She's sopping wet. We need to get her into some warm clothes, _Esme thought.

_We need to get her warmed up as soon as possible, _Carlisle thought.

Unwilling to release Bella I gave her to Esme and she rushed upstairs to get her changed. A few minutes later Esme returned with Bella in some warm clothes. Although when she handed her to me she was still shivering. Esme quickly left and returned with a space heater and a few more blankets which she wrapped around Bella. I tried to keep my skin away from hers, while I laid her in the bed. She was still trembling slightly.

"Bella…" I murmured gently. She fluttered her eyes, but did not open them. The slight flush in her cheeks that was usually there was gone. I had seen corpses with better colour.

_Edward, hold your breath,_ Carlisle demanded in thought. Without question I complied. Carlisle brought in a cup of blood with a straw again. Esme and Rosalie gently lifted Bella into an up-right position.

Carlisle took held of the straw and brought it to Bella's mouth.

"The fetus needs blood desperately, and so does Bella," He murmured.

Bella, without opening her eyes, began to slowly suck the straw, I watched as the blood traveled up it, centimeter by centimeter.

"You're doing really well, Bella," Carlisle encouraged. After about ten minutes, the cup was finally empty and I was free to breathe again.

"She needs to sleep," Carlisle whispered. _She's worsened dramatically. I hope she will pull through._

I sat in the chair next to Bella, but didn't take her hands in case I made her cold again, since the shivering had finally stopped. Although all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms. Rosalie pulled up a chair the opposite of the bed. Everyone else stayed and sat on the sofa. They tried their best to block their thoughts from me.

I hummed Bella's lullaby, although I knew she was asleep. I couldn't hear the child's thoughts anymore, so I assumed he or she was asleep as well.

"What was that about the wolves?" Alice broke the silence.

"I believe they are a new generation of the Quileute pack. This would explain why they stopped chasing him when he neared our house. They caught our scent," Carlisle explained.

"I didn't see any wolves…" Alice mused. "And I only saw Laurent about the time he escaped them…I can't see past those mutts!"

"Alice…" I sighed, inclining my head towards Bella's sleeping form.

_Sorry, _She thought. Her thoughts were still irritated.

"What were his thoughts?" Carlisle asked gently.

"What I expected…he's going to tell Victoria that since Bella's not at our house, she's at hers. Although I still don't know why they want her."

"What are your thoughts on the wolves?" Carlisle wondered. I sighed.

"Honestly, Carlisle, that's not what I'm worried about at the moment." My eyes never left Bella.

_I understand son…I'm truly sorry._

"Has she improved any?" I sounded desperate.

"It's too early to tell. I'm sorry."

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**AN/ Oh, I hope Bella will be alright! (he he, am I cruel?)**

**And it was Laurent! Well done to everyone who guessed correctly!**

**If you have any questions, mention it in the review or message me and I will try and answer it at well as I can.**

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	18. Chapter 18

**AN/ Hello my wonderful readers! Chapter 18, as promised.****  
****I'd like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. We beat the target of 280 reviews with 291 reviews! I'm so happy so I made this chapter longer than usual as a thank you.**

**Anyway, I'll do my main talking at the bottom. Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review. Target = 310 reviews! I know we can do it! Please review!**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight**

**

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*Edward's POV*

I watched as the sun rose, the light piercing through the small cracks in the metal shutters. The light bounced off my skin, throwing small rainbows across the room. Bella had still not fully awoken. Occasionally I would hear the thoughts of the child, as he or she would move around. Then Bella would stir after being accidentally kicked from the inside. The child's thoughts seemed to always be apologetic when this happened. Throughout the night, Carlisle had been giving Bella blood to drink, which seemed to be making her improve a little. I was grateful for that since I had to leave the house tonight. If she had still been on the edge of death, my brothers would've had to fight alone.

Emmett and Jasper had returned from hunting, both ready to fight with Victoria. According to Alice, the path that Victoria was on was still leading her to Bella's house tonight.

Laurent had not made another appearance, although I had asked Alice to keep watch in her visions in case he decided to come back. I had been on constant alert, listening out for anyone's thoughts that we weren't expecting. Or maybe more importantly, expecting.

It was only Rosalie and I in the living room with Bella. The rest of the family was around the house trying to block their thoughts from me. Although no matter how hard they tried, they could not block their thoughts of the worry about tonight. I felt sorry for Jasper. Him being able to sense the emotions of everyone in the household meant the feelings were stronger for him. Alice was with him, trying to comfort him.

I suppressed a sigh.

Everyone was concerned about my control. It was coming closer to a month since I had last hunted, although I couldn't ignore the truth. There was never a single second that the dry, aching burn at the back of my throat vanished. The thirst burnt through my throat like fire. When Carlisle brought the cup full of blood in, or I got too close to Bella, my mouth would pool with venom. I could now sympathize with Carlisle with what he must have gone through when he was first changed. Although I knew he was much worse than this.

I was able to keep it under control though. I kept the monster inside of me locked away and had no plans of letting it escape. I would be hunting tonight after I had killed Victoria. I hated the focus of my family's concern on me. I felt even sorrier for Jasper after remembering all the times we had hovered and worried over him for his low control in our "different" diet.

Bella's lips parted and her eyelids started to flutter. I gently stroked her hair. She slowly opened her eyes and met mine. I smiled down at her. We stared into each other's eyes for what only seemed to be a few seconds before her eyelids started drooping and she yawned.

Although she had slept a lot through the night, she hadn't been getting much sleep for the past week. Part of me wanted her to stay awake right now. Mainly so she would sleep tonight while I was gone, and never know I was absent. But that would mean she would deteriorate. She required sleep almost as much as she required blood at the moment. She needed all the strength she could get.

"You can sleep," I murmured softly. With weak effort she shook her head and what she said almost made me jump back in amazement.

"I'm...thirsty." A small, embarrassed smile appeared on her lips.

"That's great!" Rosalie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat to get some more blood. Rosalie trusted me more alone with Bella now. Since I had been hearing the child's thoughts, and I knew that the child loved Bella, I could not harm him.

"Good...Rosalie's just getting some for you." I smiled, inclining my head towards the kitchen, although I knew that's not where Rosalie was going to get the blood.

"Maybe try eating something after...?" I asked. She smiled and nodded. Just then Rosalie came back into the room. The smell of blood hit me like being punched in the face. My stomach coiled with the hunger that was an echo of the thirst and my mouth pooled with venom. _Why didn't Rosalie warn me! _I shouted at myself. I couldn't afford to lose control around Bella. Although it wasn't her blood, if I lost control, let the monster escape and had the blood from the cup that Rosalie was holding, the monster would want more blood after. The nearest blood it could get - Bella.

I stopped breathing, and clamped one hand over my mouth and nose, squeezing my eyes shut in the process. My other hand gripped the arm of the chair I was sitting in. Due to my strength, my hand crushed the arm of the chair and I was left with a palm full of splinters and pulp. Luckily Rosalie had noticed my struggle and left the room. She was thinking about trying to find a lid for the cup. She didn't seem to be sorry. She was _irritated_.

I reined the monster in and opened my eyes. My hand was still covering my mouth and nose. Bella was staring at me wide-eyed, and I'd noticed she had shuffled to the side a little bit, away from me. She was chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

I cautiously released my hand and took a careful breath. The only scent left in the room was Bella's, which although still made my throat burn, was better than the cup of blood open to the air.

"I'm okay." I said in a strained voice. "Rosalie just didn't give me any warning about the cup of blood."

Bella shuffled herself carefully towards the middle of the bed, nearer to me, although her face still looked worried. Even though I couldn't hear her thoughts, I could practically read what she was thinking through the emotions playing on her face. She had said her mother used to call her an open book, and from the very first time I laid eyes on her, I knew that was true. Although I had thought she was harder to read since I couldn't directly read her thoughts, now I was glad that at least I could get a peak of what she was thinking, instead of hitting a brick wall every single time.

She wanted me to go hunting, I knew that much. I know she hated seeing me in pain, and she always felt guilty because her blood was a much stronger call to me then other blood. Maybe I could put her mind at ease. Technically I would be hunting tonight. I could tell her that much. If she was awake when I had to leave I would've had to tell her something anyway.

"I'm going hunting tonight. I won't be gone long," I assured her. Her face relaxed and a small smile played on her lips. I took both of her hands in mine, rubbing them gently.

"You do need to hunt," she agreed. "I've never seen your eyes this black before."

I shrugged.

I heard the footsteps of Carlisle coming down the stairs. _Edward, _Carlisle thought. _I'll be bringing the blood in a minute. I think it's best if you leave, I'm sorry son._

I sighed. I knew it was for the best. I could never lose control around Bella. But now even Carlisle didn't trust me.

"Carlisle's just coming with the...blood." I started, looking towards the door. "As soon as you're finished, I'll be back." I promised.

She was about to protest about my leaving, but then she bit her lip and nodded. I gently removed my hands from hers and stroked her cheek before I left. Rosalie brushed past me, entering the living room to be with Bella. I envied her.

I could hear Carlisle's thoughts as he was just about to pour the blood into the cup. I decided I should go outside. I went out through the front door, and sat on the porch step. I breathed in the fresh air.

I remembered the very first time I brought Bella here. I looked at the space where I had parked her truck. I closed my eyes and remembered every moment of that day in perfect detail. She was wearing her blue blouse with the only skirt she owned and she had her hair tied back into a pony tail. I remember leading her up the exact same steps that I was sitting on. She was worried about meeting my family. Not because they were vampires, but because she was worried they wouldn't approve of her. I laughed at the thought. It was a ludicrous idea to me that someone wouldn't approve of Bella. Alice had already started seeing Bella as a best friend, even before she'd met her.

I opened my eyes to the sound of a sucking noise from inside the house. I tried to ignore it and concentrated on her heartbeat instead. It had improved dramatically from a couple of days ago. From when it used to falter occasionally, now it was mostly a firm beat which never failed to calm me. I listened to the steady rhythm.

_Stupid bloodsuckers._

My head snapped up and I looked towards the direction of the unexpected thought. It was a few miles away. The voice was male, and not familiar. I jumped up from the step. I was about to warn the family, but I didn't hear any sounds indicating the person was close. I listened to the thoughts more carefully.

_Can't believe those leaches have moved back into town._

_I can smell them from here._

_Cool it, guys. Focus. This is their territory._

There seemed to be three of them. Suddenly it made sense whose thoughts they were. It was the Quileute tribe. Or maybe more appropriate, the Quileute pack. Due to the treaty we made with them all those years ago, neither of us could go on each other's land.

Their thoughts were drifting away into the distance.

Suddenly I remembered the treaty, and what we had agreed to. We couldn't bite a human. Bite, not kill. I had thought of this when Carlisle first told me it was a possibility Bella wouldn't be human for much longer. But I didn't know there were any wolves then. If Bella were to be changed, we would break the treaty. We would start a war.

I had to inform Carlisle. I turned on my feet about to enter the house, but the sucking noise coming from inside stopped me. It had only been 20 seconds at most since I had come outside. It usually took Bella about 5 minutes to finish a whole cup. I had told her I would be back as soon as she was finished. If I talked with Carlisle before I saw her, she would know something was wrong. I would have to put on hold the worries of the treaty for now. Whatever happened, Bella was always my first priority. Much before any treaty I made with any dogs years ago.

I took a deep breath and sat back on the porch step. While I waited, I listened out for any thoughts.

_I do feel bad for Edward. He must be in a lot of pain. I wish there was somehow I could help, _Esme thought.

_Bella seems to be improving...hopefully that will mean the baby is...I'm glad. _Rosalie's thoughts made a growl rumble in my chest. Since I had arrived at our house, Rosalie's thoughts had always been more concerned with the child than my Bella. Although Rosalie tried to show Bella that she cared about her, I knew Bella knew the truth about Rosalie's feelings. Rosalie was purely a bodyguard to Bella and her child – my child.

It had been difficult thinking I was going to become a father. Especially when who I was going to become a father to was potentially going to kill the love of my existence.

Although I dreaded to think about it, if the worst happened and Bella didn't survive, there wouldn't be a way I would survive, too. I had heard the thoughts of my family think about the very same subject. But when they did, they immediately blocked their thoughts from me, and hoped I didn't hear anything. If the worst did happen, I would go to Italy, since no member of my family would be willing to help me.

I would provoke the Volturi. I couldn't live in a world where Bella didn't exist. Even thinking about it was agonizing. It was painful being away from her now, knowing that if anything went wrong, I would be losing precious moments with her.

Finally, for what seemed like a life time, Carlisle informed me by thought that Bella had finished. I quickly stood up and ran into the living room.

Bella's scent filled the room, and my throat quickly burned. I had gotten used to the fresh air outside. Ignoring the burning sensation at the back of my throat, I returned to Bella, taking her hands in mine again. Carlisle had returned upstairs and Rosalie was sitting across from where I was standing. Esme and Alice were sitting on the couch, both reading a magazine.

"I told you I'd be back," I murmured, rubbing Bella's hands gently. She smiled up at me.

"I believed you."

My anxiousness got the better of me. I needed to know what Carlisle thought about the situation with the treaty.

"And so you'll believe me when I say it again. I've got to talk to Carlisle, about my hunting tonight." I gently squeezed her hands. "I love you."

Bella smiled back at me, releasing my hands before quickly squeezing them with little strength. "Me too."

I quickly sped up the stairs and into Carlisle's office. He had been researching cases such as Bella's, but hadn't found anything of any similarity.

_Edward, _Carlisle thought.

"Carlisle, I heard the wolves' thoughts while I was outside. There seems to be three of them, as Laurent said...Carlisle, what about the treaty? If it comes to the point that we have to change Bella, we will break the treaty. We will start a war."

_I had thought of this when the possibility first arose, and with what Laurent had said. As far as everyone knows, Bella has simply run away. She left a note for her father. If the situation arises and we have to change her, the pack will be none the wiser, although we will have to relocate soon after._

It seemed that Carlisle had worked it all out. We couldn't go on their land, and that meant they couldn't go on ours. They wouldn't know Bella was here. No one did, and no one would.

"You're sure..." I murmured, almost to myself.

_I'm fairly certain._

Suddenly, I heard a loud cry from downstairs.

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**AN/ Mwahahahaha....(Evil Laugh)**

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	19. Chapter 19

**AN/ *Peeks around corner* I am so, so sorry for the late post of chapter. I can't believe it's been a month! I am so sorry! And I left it as a cliff hanger!  
Sorry! Just so you know. I am NOT abandoning this story. And I never will. Anyway...I hope you had a lovely Christmas! Who got Twilight stuff? *Hands up!* I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

**We beat the target of 310 reviews with 323 reviews! I am sooo happy! Thank you guys so much! The target this time is 350...I know we can do it.**

**Okay, I feel like Stephenie Meyer saying this, but thank you so much MUSE for giving me the inspiration to finish this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**I huge thank you to my beta, Angels of Twilight!**

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*Edwards POV*

I ran out of Carlisle's office and down the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me. In one-point-six seconds, I was at Bella's side.

She was curled up into a ball clutching her stomach, letting out pained cries. Rosalie was crouched over her protectively.

_I heard a crack. _Rosalie's thoughts were filled with concern for the child. Not Bella.

The fetus must have broken another of Bella's ribs. Since Bella was getting stronger, so was the child. My un-beating heart sank. I knelt at Bella's side, pushing the hair out of her face with one of my hands. I tried to keep my voice level since she was still letting out cries of pain.

"Bella, love...I'm going to take you upstairs to Carlisle. I think you've got another broken rib." My voice was a broken whisper at the end.

I gently scooped her up in my arms, holding her close to my chest. I turned to the direction of the stairs, but another loud scream erupted from Bella. It stopped me in my tracks. It wasn't just a scream. It was an ear piercing shriek of agony.

"Bella!" I shouted when her body curled backwards in my arms, her head falling backwards. It was followed by sickening cracks coming from her mid-torso. She screamed out again.

_Need to get out._

This was the thought that I had been dreading. The fetus was too strong and too big and was trying to get out of Bella. The fetus was going to tear itself out.

I heard Alice gasp from the other side of the room in the panic, but I didn't concentrate to try and see what she was seeing in her vision.

"UPSTAIRS!" I yelled to Rosalie, darting up the stairs into Carlisle's office. Bella was still screaming in agonizing pain. Hearing her in such pain tore my dead heart to pieces. Carlisle, hearing the commotion downstairs, had cleared the table in the middle of the room for me to lay Bella on. I did so without hesitation. Bella's eyes were unfocused, staring at the ceiling while cry's escaped her throat. Tears ran down her cheeks, landing on the cold surface of the table. Her body curled backwards on the table, like something was dragging her up by her stomach. I quickly ripped off Bella's shirt, throwing the scraps of material on the floor.

The whole of her stomach was made up by patches of black and purple, growing darker by the second. Blood pooled underneath the surface of her skin. I stroked her scrunched up face, wishing I could take the pain away.

Rosalie stayed just outside the office, cutting off her breathing to resist temptation. There would be blood soon. She stayed out there in case she was needed.

Carlisle turned and quickly picked up a syringe of morphine, injecting it into Bella's arm.

"Wait for the morphine to spread," he instructed. "Edward, there's going to be too much blood. It may be too much of a risk having you here," Carlisle insisted as he pushed the plunger down.

"I'm staying!" I snarled, wiping some of Bella's tears away with my thumb, trying to soothe her.

"If it gets to be too much, you must leave," Carlisle persisted. Before I could answer, Bella spoke through her screams.

"Edward!" She gasped.

"I'm here, Bella. It will all be over soon, I promise." If vampires could cry, I would be sobbing, "Stay with me, Bella. Don't leave me." Another crack sounded from Bella's torso, making her scream out again. Her eyes scrunched up, more tears escaping.

I looked over to Carlisle who was rapidly setting up all the equipment necessary. I saw the scalpel and winced.

"I didn't see...I didn't know." Alice's voice came from just inside of the door. Her voice was frantic, mixed with confusion. Her thoughts were the same.

"What?" I demanded, whipping my head around to look at Alice. She looked terrified.

A single word escaped her thoughts the same time she spoke it. "Victoria."

My first instinct was to deny it. Alice had seen Victoria at Bella's house tonight. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.

"She's coming _here_, Edward," Alice shrieked.

My head quickly spun to look at my Bella, screaming through the early haze of the morphine, and back to Alice. The words that I had said which seemed a lifetime ago played through my mind. "_The future isn't set in stone. Things change_." Victoria had altered her course.

"When?" I demanded.

"Ten minutes. Her future was blank, but then it reappeared in a matter of minutes." Alice was getting hysterical.

"Get Emmett and Jasper outside. NOW!" I commanded. Alice quickly turned on her heal and ran down the hall, screaming out my brothers' names.

Victoria was on her way to our house, while Bella was on the edge of death. I resented the wolves more now as they had blocked our only way of seeing outside this house and keeping Bella safe – through Alice's visions.

My thoughts were interrupted by sound like tearing metal. The loudest, most agonizing scream I had ever heard came from Bella, instantly making me turn around to her.

Bella's eyes were scrunched up in pain again, and screams escaped her throat. The child was using its own teeth to tear its way out.

"EDWARD!" Bella screeched, gasping.

"It's progressing quicker than I thought. We need to get him out now. Edward, I need to your help. Emmett and Jasper can take care of Victoria." Carlisle's voice was urgent. He picked up the scalpel, but I placed my hand over it, stopping him.

"The morphine!" I growled, not wanting Bella to be in any more pain.

"There's no time!" Carlisle insisted. I reluctantly removed my hand, but at the same time, another tearing metal noise came from Bella's stomach. She screamed again, and curled backwards on the table. Her bloodshot eyes were wide open but unfocused, staring at the ceiling and her face was turning blue. Carlisle brought the scalpel down on Bella's stomach, puncturing the skin and running it along the width of her abdomen. I stopped mid-breath and held it. Blood pooled over where the knife met with her skin, like a bucket being tipped over.

The monster within me thrived at the sight of the luscious crimson colour. The colour was so delicious, so appetizing. Would it really hurt to take one little breath?

_No_. I stopped the too appealing thought in its tracks. I forced my eyes off of the ruby coloured blood and looked towards Bella's face to try and distract myself.

She was staring at me, wide eyed, biting her lip to try and stop screaming. Whimpers escaped instead. Her cheeks were stained with tears, while new ones appeared running down them.

I couldn't speak, although I wanted to. If I only as much as opened my mouth and said a single word, the temptation to breathe in the heavenly scent of her blood would be too much. And I would kill her myself. My throat ached and burned to be so close to her blood.

I cupped her cheek with one of my hands, and held her hand with my other, in some small hope to soothe her from this torture. I leant down far enough so she could rest her head on the side of my chest, holding her against me.

The sounds of tearing metal rose again, and agonizing screams came from Bella's throat as she started to thrash around. I held her tighter, and using one arm, I gently pinned her to the table, still holding her close to me.

"Stay with me, Bella. Don't leave me," I pleaded again in tearless sobs.

I looked over to Carlisle, and his face was against the big bulge which was Bella's stomach. Using his teeth he tore away at the vampire skin that was separating the child from us.

I looked back to Bella who was turning a scary shade of white under the big lights above. Her thrashing about in my stone grasp suddenly came to a standstill. It was then that I knew it was out of her. I loosened my grip on her ever so slightly.

I turned my head and Carlisle was holding a small, bloody bundle in his arms.

_A little boy. _Carlisle's thoughts informed me. A little boy. I had a son.

"Let me...let me see." Bella croaked. She was weakly trying to lift her arms.

I couldn't deny Bella anything. With what she had gone through, she deserved to see our son. With my breath still held in my lungs, I gestured for Carlisle to pass me my son. Carlisle, with slight hesitation, passed me my child. I cradled him awkwardly in my arms. He was warm blooded. The heat to my icy skin felt like fire – fire which I was willing to receive.

My son opened his eyelids and stared at me with his emerald green eyes. Eyes that I hadn't seen in over ninety years. My human eyes. The way he looked at me wasn't at all childlike. The look in his eyes was like he knew everything that was going on around him. Almost like an adult. He had the same bronze hair colour as me, and a similar texture. But that was all. The rest of him was all my beautiful Bella. His heart shaped face was the same as hers, along with his nose and full lips. His skin was ivory, slightly paler than a human. Rosy cheeks contrasted perfectly. His heartbeat was faster than a human's heart. It was like a humming bird's wings. Not a second had passed, and Bella was still waiting with limp open arms. I gently pressed him against her so she could cradle him. But I still carried his weight.

"A baby boy, Bella," I spoke softly and carefully, knowing no one had spoken yet and also resisting the urge to draw in another breath. She looked down on him and new tears welled in her eyes. Not from pain, but from happiness.

"My baby...boy, so...beautiful," she murmured, catching breaths in between her words. The morphine was finally spreading, making her eyelids droop ever so slightly.

_We need to change her, son. She's not going to last much longer, _Carlisle's sad thoughts informed me. Almost in unison to Carlisle's words, Bella's hands dropped and her heartbeat began to slow and deteriorate rapidly.

I backed away from Bella, allowing Carlisle to get better access. Carlisle quickly went to her throat, her wrists and the crease inside her arm. Biting and injecting the agonizing venom that would save my Bella.

"Edward?" Rosalie's voice came from just outside the door. "Give him to me, Edward. I've got it under control. Go help your brothers."

I took one last look at my son before I handed him over to Rosalie, who had her arms out ready. She cradled him against her, picking up a towel, which was on the side. She walked carefully back down the hall. I felt like she'd taken a part of me with her.

I turned back to see Carlisle doing compressions on Bella's heart, and blowing air into her lungs. Forcing a response out of her heart.

My own heart felt as if it was in my throat.

Carlisle stopped doing the compressions and bit her again once on the neck, sweeping his tongue over the gashes to keep the blood in. Without thinking, I quickly ran to the side of Bella and placed my hands over her chest while Carlisle forced more venom into her system.

_One. Two. Three. Four._

I kept the compressions steady, willing for her heart to be stronger.

"She's going to be fine! There's too much venom in her system not to," Carlisle assured me. "Go help your brothers. They'll need you. We can't risk Victoria coming here." His thoughts pictured Victoria getting to Bella and the baby. I couldn't let that happen, but I didn't want to leave the love of my existence here begging for her life.

Carlisle was a trained doctor and would do _everything_ in his power to save Bella. I knew that. I wasn't much help being here. I couldn't as much as breathe or speak. Let alone help by biting Bella.

I leaned down over her, still keeping the air in my lungs, and kissed her lightly on the cheek sending my throat alight. I ignored the burn and whispered in her ear, "I love you." I hoped with all of the hope I had that she heard me.

I sped out of Carlisle's office, down the stairs, and out the door. I followed Emmett and Jasper's scent easily, it leading me through the forest.

I kicked my legs behind me as hard as I could to make me faster as I ran. Their trail got stronger until I finally met up with them on the other side of the forest. Their thoughts acknowledged my arrival.

"Is Bella...?" Emmett asked anxiously, thinking the worst. I saw my horrified and distressed expression in his thoughts.

"She's lost a lot of blood. Carlisle's changing her now." My voice sounded flat and emotionless. Like a robot. "She had a boy."

Emmett and Jasper's thoughts picked up on the detail of me having a son. They had previously wondered if the child was going to be a boy or girl.

I could see my son's face in my mind now. It relieved a fraction of the stress and worry I felt for Bella, but only a little. My heart ached to be near her, to make sure she was fine and well – and alive.

Part of me believed when I returned, she would be dead and that we were too late in saving her. That she had died for her son. _Our_ son. She hadn't even named him.

Jasper, sensing my mood, spoke. "She'll be okay, Edward. The venom will save her in time," he tried to assure me. I nodded and changed the subject.

"When did Alice say Victoria," I snarled her name, "will arrive?"

"Any minute now." Emmett's voice was anxious. "Alice thinks the wolves intercepted her course, making her come here to check first for Bella."

I listened out for any thoughts that were around apart from my family.

_Bella will get the slow and agonizing death she deserves. No one will stand in my way. Not even her precious Edward._

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**I promise the next chapter won't be too long in wait time. But review and it will be quicker! Please tell me that you're still interested.**

**I was wondering the other day if I have any Twi-boys (Twi-guys) reading? If so, please tell me in the review! I don't know why they get so much abuse from people for liking Twilight. I would of thought girls would like them more for reading Twilight! I would! Twilight boys know what they're doing!  
So I'm giving a huge shout out to any Twi-guys out there! You're the best! **

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**Please read the following story by the very talented mizzybizzy (JS_Vampire) I give it 10 stars.  
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**Also, please have a read of my new one-shot story "New moon's Christmas" (My entry for the Twilight novel novice Winter competition)  
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There's also a link on my profile. Please review it and tell me what you think. I worked very hard on it. :-D**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN/ Hello. I am really, really sorry for the late post. Really bad writers block. Thank you to everyone who reviewed.**

**I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to MizzyBizzy for helping me so much on this chapter and our twenty minute writing runs I owe you lol.**

**Please check out her story, I love it! **www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/5425126/1/Vengeance_Sweet_Vengeance

**I do not own twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Thanks to the beta, Angels Of Twilight.**

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*Edward's POV*

She was near – very near. She was no farther than seven seconds away.

"Get ready," I warned my brothers. They immediately turned to the direction I was facing. We could now hear the slight crunch of the twigs on the ground as Victoria pressed on them while running and the snapping noise of the branches as they whipped at her.  
I quickly worked over several strategies in my head depending on what Victoria would choose.

If she went straight for the house, we would run after her. She was fast, but I was faster. My brother's though, weren't. I'd have to fight her alone.

If she fought us first, we'd be able to take her down. I hoped. According to Alice, and also Victoria's thoughts, she was alone. I just had to hope that fact was true. I couldn't hear anyone else approaching.

We could see her in the distance now. She was running at full speed but when she spotted us, her pace slowed ever so slightly.

_How did they know I was coming?_ Her thoughts were confused.

Victoria was oblivious to the fact my family and I had certain abilities. She wouldn't have known Alice would've had a vision of her arrival or that I would have heard her thoughts.

I sunk into a crouched position, as did my brothers. They were snarling and ready to pounce at any given chance.

_She was apprehensive. She didn't know we would be here. She was obviously counting on a surprise attack_. Jasper's tone of thought was disgusted.

Victoria's thoughts suddenly became determined. I could see what she was seeing, and everything was completely red with anger. The rage she felt towards me over killing James was driving her to the point of insanity. But part of her thoughts confused me. She didn't want to kill me. No, she wanted to leave me alive. She wanted to kill my Bella, my love, my soul and make me suffer with the despair of losing everything I loved. She wanted me to experience what she went through when James was killed. There was not a chance she was going to get her way. I growled, my lips curling over my teeth.

She turned direction slightly, avoiding us and kicked towards the house faster than I would have thought possible. I charged after her. I wouldn't let her near my family. Near my son. Near my Bella.

I ran through the woods after her, speeding my way around the trees, dodging them. I could hear the footsteps of my brothers fading into the distance behind me. I caught up to Victoria, pounced, and slammed into her. The sound was like two crashing boulders, reverberating throughout the forest. I pinned her to the ground using all of my strength. She struggled underneath me, snapping her teeth near my throat. I needed my brother's help. I wasn't going to be able to hold her down for much longer. Being so thirsty made me weak and I could feel my arms beginning to lose strength, weaken.

_We've got your back, bro._ Emmett thought. I heard the sounds of tearing metal as Emmett ripped off Victoria's arm and Jasper ripped off one of her legs. Victoria screamed in excruciating pain - pain that she more than deserved. The sounds of her tearing skin brought back to many painful memories. Recent memories of Bella in agony as my son ripped free from her. My concentration faltered for only a fraction of a second, but it proved just long enough as I felt a sharp pain in the side of my neck.

I hissed as I ripped my neck free from Victoria's teeth. I could feel the sting of the venom as it made an attempt to spread through my dead veins.

Jasper immediately punched her head back, making it push through a few inches into the ground. A crack appeared, lining the front of her throat. She screeched in anguish, and in one clean sweep, Jasper connected his teeth to her neck and ripped it off. He threw it to the side and her head rolled a few metres away, her fiery hair flying behind in a tangled arc.

The rest of her body was still twitching, so Emmett ripped part of her torso off, throwing it in a pile next to her head. Next was her other leg and her other arm. I shied away from the sick, familiar noise as I held the remaining parts of her down while Jasper and Emmett tore at them, shredding her into pieces.

I had relished in the fact that I would be the one to kill Victoria and make her suffer. But being as weak as I was meant I couldn't be as much help to my brothers as they tore her into shreds.

Once there was a pile of the remaining parts of Victoria, I turned my back to get wood to help burn the pieces. Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder, sending calming waves.

"We'll sort it out. You need to go hunt and then go back to Bella. I'm sure she needs you, as does your son."

I nodded. I needed to hunt first before I returned home. My family was my first priority, nothing came before them and in that case they needed to be safe. I wasn't in any state to be around them. I hoped with all that I had the venom had worked with Bella.

I had always dreaded Bella becoming one of us. Now I hoped that she was. Our son was also half-human. Blood ran through his veins, and he had a heartbeat. Would Bella be able to see him after she was changed? I hoped so.

There was another forest around here that had a near constant amount of elk and deer. I ran, pushing my legs as fast as they would go. I arrived five minutes later, although I should have been quicker. I felt pathetic being so weak.

Surrounded by trees, I closed my eyes and listened, breathing in deep. My nostrils flared. Three different heartbeats ringed through my ears making venom pool in my mouth. My stomach twisted with the hunger, which was an echo of the thirst. The sound was so appetizing, so delicious, I acted without thinking. My hunting instincts took over and I thundered towards the delicious smell and sound.

The detail on the trees, the leaves and the grooves on the bark were all pin sharp. But they were also blurred. I didn't take in any of my surroundings as much as I did before. My thoughts centered on the concealed blood that I could now smell.

My throat burned and I felt like I had fire licking up the sides of my throat. It was a good burn though, as part of my mind registered that it would soon be muted.

I could now see several elk and deer ahead of me, several unsuspecting, mouth-watering elk and deer. The smallest part of my humanity that stayed with me was horrified at how dominant the monster inside of me had become.

I lunged for one, aiming for the throat. I sunk my teeth into the warm, soft flesh and let the warm blood slide down my throat. It already started cooling the flame, but only a little. I needed more.

The deer struggled underneath my grasp and I could hear the sound of footsteps running away from me as the other animals ran scared. They wouldn't be able to run fast enough though.

I drained the animal until its heartbeat slowed to a gradual stop and there was not a drop of blood left. I dropped the bloodless carcass, and chased towards the other animals that had scattered. The smouldering burn was still the only thing I could feel. The scalding pain in my throat was overshadowing everything else, including the sting in my neck where Victoria had bitten me.

I caught up to the remaining animals and drained several more. I drank until I was no longer thirsty and it was safe to return to my family.

For what seemed like the longest time, but also the shortest, my thirst was subdued. I could feel my strength returning to me.

I started to breathe in an odd, but familiar scent. The smell was sweet but very heavy and made my nose burn ever so slightly. Not from thirst but from disgust.

I looked up into the sky and saw, from the direction of the other side of the forest, a purplish black smoke rising from the trees and engulfing them. That was where the sickly sweet smell was coming from. At least now I knew Victoria was dead.

My thoughts concentrated on Bella. I didn't want to be pessimistic and expect her to be dead, but I didn't want to be optimistic and expect her to be alive. Either way, one of those realities was going to be true.

I raced through the trees back to the house. I was thankful I was able to run faster than before. I kicked my legs behind me, using my strength to push me forward faster.

I arrived at the house five minutes later. I practically kicked the doors down in my way, not bothering to open them. They were only slowing me down.

_Edward?_

Is she dead? Where's Jasper and Emmett? Are they safe?

Little baby boy...

The thoughts of my family entered my mind. I didn't stop to answer their thoughts. My mind was centred on Bella. I needed to know. Her life was my own. We were two parts of one whole. If one of us died, the other one couldn't survive.

I dashed up the stairs and into Carlisle's office. Carlisle was sitting in his chair that was pulled up to the side of the table in the middle of the room. Laid out on the table was Bella's unmoving body.

I froze in the doorway and stared in horror. Why wasn't she moving?

Screaming? Begging for us to kill her?

Carlisle looked up at my frozen form. "Edward?"

I didn't know how I managed to find my voice. "Is- is she—"

Carlisle turned back to Bella. "She's been like this since your son was born. But the important thing is that she's alive."

Alive?

That's when I heard it. A strong, healthy, quickening beat….

The beat of a changing heart.

She was alive!

A choked sob escaped my throat as I slid down the doorframe and onto the floor, no longer able to hold myself up.

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**Review and the next chapter will come quicker. **


	21. Chapter 21

**AN/ Hello everyone. I'm really sorry for the late posting of this chapter. I'm studying for my Math GCSE at the moment so it's been crazy. I've been writing as much as I can when ever I can. (Even on holiday!) Good news though, this is a MEGA long chapter for you to make up for it, so enjoy and don't forget to review when you're done reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**A huge thank you to the beta, Angels of Twilight.**

* * *

*Edward's POV*

As I slid down onto the floor, I felt something I hadn't felt in such a long time. It was a feeling I didn't know I had anymore.

I felt..._human_.

Not physically though. No, I felt more immortal than I had in the past month with my strength back, more_ monster_-like. It was hard to ignore the fact that I could crush anything, purely by accident.

I felt human emotionally. I didn't realise vampires could feel fragile. I thought that was impossible. And yet, I felt like if anyone said anything, or if there was a single sound, I would shatter into a million pieces.

Every emotion that I had ever felt seemed to run through me at once, all blending together, but yet all separate at the same time.

Happiness, sadness, anxiousness and dread ran through me, seeming to crush everything that was inside me. But one emotion especially seemed to be the strongest, and it ran through every dead vain in my body and seemed to engulf me. Relief.

Relief seemed odd in this situation, but it was also the best feeling to have at this time. It seemed to trigger some sense of hope.

My Bella was alive, that fact was true, and I clung to that like it was the last thing on this earth.

Carlisle's thoughts were sympathetic as I heard the sound of him standing up from his chair. He walked over and crouched in front of me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I didn't look up.

"Edward," Carlisle's tone was trying to get my attention, but it was also soft. He noticed how fragile I was at the moment.

I lifted my head a fraction and met his gaze. He looked..._aged_, exhausted. It scared me to see Carlisle like that. He was always the head of the family, the rock. To see him distraught like this weakened my optimism.

"Tell me she's going to be okay. Please." I was begging. The hope I had was the only thing keeping me going. I never wanted it to fade away.

"I can't make any promises, son," Carlisle began, making my dead heart sink to the bottom of my stomach. "But what I can tell you is that her heart _is_ stronger than it was. It's a good sign, and one that shouldn't be ignored."

Her heart _was_ stronger. I knew that. That was what gave me the hope.

Carlisle released my shoulder and stood. He walked over towards the still, _too_ still body of my love. I stood too, and walked towards Bella.

I looked down at her and saw that Carlisle had cleaned all the blood and draped a blanket over her. I could hear the slight intake of breath as she breathed in and out, in and out. The sound of her heart ringed through my ears. It was a melody I could listen to forever.

She was too still, though. If she was changing into a vampire she would be crying, screaming, begging for us to kill her. Not just lying there. I winced.

"How much venom is in her?" I asked, gently brushing the hair out of her face with my hand. I expected a reaction from her heart, a slightly increased pace. No response.

"Enough. I hope. The good news is the venom reached her heart in time," Carlisle answered.

His thoughts went back to Bella, covered in blood, dying. He remembered biting her and injecting her with the venom she needed. I winced again, hoping to remove the images from my mind. Carlisle apologised in thought.

"She's so still though. There must be something wrong." I hated being so pessimistic.

"Or something right, son," Carlisle offered. "She has a lot of morphine in her system, too."

"She must be in _agony_." My voice broke at the end. To think she was in pain caused me pain. She didn't have to go through this. It was entirely my fault.

"We don't know that for sure. Like I said, she has a lot of morphine in her. We don't know what effect that will have on her change."

As I watched her, I noticed slight differences about her from the past few minutes I had been here. Her features were slightly sharper, her skin slightly paler. A human wouldn't have noticed this, only my vampire senses could detect the slight differences.

I battled with myself. All the signs of her changing were there, only she wasn't moving.

"She's going to be okay." I spoke only to myself. If I told myself enough times, hopefully I would believe it.

Carlisle placed a hand back on my shoulder. "She seems stable. I'll leave you two alone. Call for me if anything changes." With that, he left the room after gently stroking Bella's cheek. Bella was like a daughter to Carlisle. I knew that.

I sat in the chair placed next to Bella and took one of her hands in both of mine, gently rubbing them. Usually she would respond by gently squeezing my hand, but she didn't.

I knew my life would never be the same after this, and neither would hers, and that saddened me the most. She shouldn't have had to do any of this. I should have died in 1918 like I was meant to. Not taking away the life of the most beautiful, kind, wonderful girl on this earth.

Most people change kind of slowly. They're who they are and then after a while, they're someone else. But some people know the exact moment where their lives changed. They saw the person they were going to marry or the look in their baby's eyes the first time he smiled.

For some people, it's not the good things in life that made them change. It's something they've gone through that makes everything they look at from that moment on seem very different from how it had always been.

I knew the exact moment I had changed. It was when I met Bella for the first time and I have not been the same since, but in a good way. She helped me to see that life was worth living.

But she was going to change today. Her whole life was going change. Nothing she knew would ever be the same again.

I didn't take my eyes off of her. I didn't even blink. I didn't need to. Any sign of movement from her, I wanted to see it. I ignored the thoughts of my family downstairs.

I didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, it could have been days for all I knew but after that time there was a knock at the door. I didn't move or say anything.

"Edward?" It was Alice's voice as she opened the door. I heard the sound of the door gently shutting. She walked over and stood next to me.

"I can see her, Edward, and she's becoming clearer as time goes on." Alice showed me visions she had had in the past hour or so of Bella. Bella was running in the woods, her skin shining in the light. She looked...happy. It made me smile slightly. "Your son, though," she sighed, "I can't see him at all! I've never come across a vampire-human hybrid before. It's extremely frustrating."

I almost laughed a little at how annoyed Alice was. _Almost_.

"She's going to be okay...?" I murmured.

"She's going to be perfect! Stop worrying!" She placed her tiny hand on my shoulder.

She looked happy. That's what I concentrated on. Maybe she wouldn't hate me for sentencing her to this life.

Alice's next thoughts confused me. Although in any other situation it would have been normal, for her anyway, but this time it confused me. Fashion.

"Alice, what are you-" I started, but didn't finish. Alice had fled the room. I didn't try to keep up with her thoughts as she ran along the halls.

She returned seconds later with some red material hanging over her tiny arm.

"Well, we can't have her wrapped in that awful blanket much longer."

A low growl rumbled in my chest. I looked up and glared at Alice.

"Bella might be lying here in agony and you're worried what she's _wearing_?" I snarled.

Alice leaned back on her heels slightly but did not step back. Embarrassed by my outburst, I looked down again and put my head in my hands. I closed my eyes and exhaled sharply. It wasn't Alice's fault. I shouldn't take my anger out on her.

"I'm sorry, Alice. Please forgive my rudeness," I apologised.

"It's okay. I know how worried you must be, but really, she'll be fine. I can see her, Edward, really I can."

"I just don't want her to be in pain," I moaned into my hands. "If she is, I would take it for her if I could."

I moved my face up so I could see Bella. Still no change, not even a single movement. No visible pain etched on her features. In fact, she looked peaceful. Her eyes were gently closed and her lips were slightly parted. She was looking paler as the minutes passed and her features were sharper. She was beautiful, not that she ever wasn't.

Alice gently laid the red dress on a space next to Bella on the table. She turned and looked at me. "I'm sure when Bella wakes up she'll want to be wearing something more...suitable. Go and see your son, Edward. He's very special."

Of course he was special, he was more than that. He was Bella's son, my son. Our son. His pure existence was supposed to be impossible. At this time, though, I didn't want to leave Bella.

"I can't leave her," I stated. "Not now."

"Edward, she'll be fine. Trust me. Please, go and see your son."

I struggled mentally with myself. Of course I wanted to see my son, of course I did. He was my _son_! I supposed Bella would be okay for a few minutes. Who knew if she even knew that I was here or not? I slowly stood, kissing Bella's forehead as I rose.

"Be careful," I said to Alice as I turned for the door.

I ran down the stairs and into the living room where all the family was gathered around the sofa, apart from Alice, of course. Their thoughts overwhelmed me all at once. Before I was blocking them out, but now they all mixed around my mind. They were all about my son, of course, but only questions. Endless questions about him, but not many answers.

I could see the top of Rosalie's head as she was sitting on the couch, bending her head over. The rest of them gathered around her. Rosalie was holding a small bundle in her arms.

Hearing my approach, Carlisle turned his head towards me. He smiled at me as he gestured with his hands for me to join them.

Everyone else's heads turned to look at me except for Rosalie who kept her eyes fixed on the precious child in her arms. Everyone had small smiles on their faces.

_He's beautiful Edward, and very gifted._

_You and Bella both show an equal amount in him._

_He's unique, exceptionally so._

My family slightly moved out a little to let me have a better look. Rosalie shifted herself so I could see him more clearly.

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion when I saw him. He looked the same, but something wasn't right. He wasn't the same size baby I had seen just yesterday. He looked bigger, more like a month old baby than a baby of only day.

Carlisle, noticing my hesitation, gently put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"He grows faster than most, even in shorter amounts of time."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"He's a day old, Carlisle!"

"I know, son, I know. I'm monitoring him and seeing how quickly his growth spurts are. It's too early to tell yet."

Suddenly, my son put his hand on Rosalie's neck. She gasped and her face became blank for a second.

_Is that my daddy?_

It was the same voice I had heard from Bella's stomach, so I knew at once it was my son communicating through thought. What surprised me though, was Rosalie's reaction.

"Yes, that's him." She patted his little hand.

I stepped back slightly in shock. Had the child spoken? But I had not seen his lips move? No, his lips hadn't moved and it was still his thought voice. He didn't know what he sounded like yet. So how did Rosalie know how to answer him?

"Your son seems to have a special gift, too," Carlisle spoke, sensing my confusion. "He can communicate his thoughts to us by touch. It seems to be the opposite of your gift." He chuckled a bit at the end.

He had a power and, although he was half human, it didn't seem to affect the efficiency of the gift. I gave a slight smile. He was indeed very special.

Rosalie stood, cradling him awkwardly as he squirmed in her arms trying to reach for me.

I instinctively held my arms out to him and lifted him out of Rosalie's. Holding him was a natural thing to do. I didn't think twice about it.

He looked up at me again with his adult-like gaze again. His green eyes pierced into mine, and again it was like looking into the past.

I gently rocked him, side to side. A small smile played on his lips making perfect little dimples in his rose petal cheeks.

Seeing him smile seemed to have a domino effect on everyone in the room, including me. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

How could I have wanted to kill him? I cringed even at the thought of it. Bella, Rosalie and everyone was right. He wasn't a curse, he was a gift.

"Thank you." I said softly looking up and quickly scanning the room before my eyes landed again on the child in my arms. "I could not have harmed him. Thank you for stopping me."

Rosalie gently stroked his little head, "He is very special indeed. We all love E.J. very much."

E.J.? They had a nickname for him already? But Bella hadn't named him.

"E.J.?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Edward Junior." Rosalie shrugged.

"It's Bella's right to name him!"

"Exactly. Alice had a vision of what Bella would name him. Bella's going to call him Edward Junior," Rosalie told me as if it was obvious.

Edward Junior? Bella was naming him after me? My father was an Edward, too. She was keeping the tradition. I was now Edward Senior. I smiled at the thought of being a senior at seventeen.

I looked down again at the child in my arms and just stood there watching him, letting time pass.

The rest of my family scattered around the room, sitting down on the couches, looking out the window. Only Rosalie stood by my side as I cradled little E.J.

The thoughts of E.J. were scattered. They were mostly pictures, _memories_ of my family. But the one of Bella, covered in blood, dying, made me cringe. But of course, that was the only way he knew her.

When I heard the sound, my heart broke. The sound went through me almost making me drop to the floor at the same time. Before anyone had a chance to move I placed E.J. in Rosalie's arms as I ran up the stairs as fast as I could.

I followed the sounds of Bella's screams echoing from Carlisle's office.

As I entered the room, Bella was laying on the table with Alice pinning her down by her arms. Bella's legs kicked at the table under her. Bella was obviously stronger since there were dents being imprinted into the work surface.

My heart completely dropped into my stomach as I saw her in pain.

She felt it! She felt the awful burn that was changing her into one of the immortals.

"Alice, what happened?" I demanded, rushing over to stroke Bella's face and hoping to calm her. Bella was now wearing the red dress that Alice had obviously dressed her in.

"I don't know!" She shrieked. "Her path changed, she made a decision of some sort. I had a vision of this then suddenly she started screaming!"

Carlisle entered the room a few seconds after me and sent Alice out due to her panicking. He took the tops of Bella's arms and held them to her sides.

"Edward, hold down her legs!" he shouted at me. I quickly ran over to the other side of the table and did so. It shocked me, how strong she was. I had to really use force to keep her from thrashing about.

Bella was still screaming blood-curdling screams and had her eyes squeezed shut. No tears were running down her face though. She was too late in the change to cry.

"Bella!" Carlisle commanded. She gasped and opened her eyes. Her stare was unfocused and looking at nothing. Her eyes were bloodshot, extremely so and the colour of her eyes was turning a bright red. The eyes of a newborn.

Screams still escaped her throat but she was trying to say a word in-between them. A mantra she repeated to say which made me feel sick every time I heard it.

"Burning...!" she gasped, another scream catching in her throat.

I knew what she was feeling. It was my strongest human memory. The pain, it was...unbearable. To think...to _know_...she was going through it. It made me hate my existence even more for making her suffer this way.

_It seems the morphine has worn off. Hopefully, it helped for the beginning, _Carlisle thought sadly.

"Bella, I know it hurts and it's difficult but I need you to try and calm yourself," Carlisle said. _She could easily injure herself, or us, _he thought.

We waited for her to try and stop, but she didn't. She continued to scream and thrash about on the table. I had to use more force to keep her legs from moving. It hurt to see her in so much pain.

"Edward, talk to her. Hopefully she'll listen to you."

Carlisle and I quickly swapped where we were holding her down. In the millisecond that she was not being held down she kicked at the table underneath her and made a crack in it.

I grabbed hold of both of her wrists and pinned them to the table by her sides.

"Bella, love," I said soothingly, hoping to put her at some ease, "I know you're in pain- no that doesn't even cover it, but you need to try and stop struggling. Otherwise you're going to hurt yourself more."

"It's _burning_! _Please_, stop the fire!" she screamed again. Her eyes darted around the room, but didn't settle on anything.

Her words tore at my heart, leaving it in shreds.

"I know, love, I know. Please, just _try_."

Bella suddenly scrunched up her eyes in concentration, and became still on the table. She sobbed tearless sobs and let out a scream every other second.

_She's using less strength,_ Carlisle informed me by thought.

Carlisle released her legs and they stayed fixed to the table. She was obviously putting pressure on the table as little cracks appeared on the surface. At least she wasn't going to hurt herself more.

I let go of her arms and they, too, stayed where they were.

I gently stroked her face and leant down to kiss her cheek. I sat on the edge of the table and pulled her into my arms. She buried her face into my chest to smother her cries.

I sat and held her for the last time with warm blood in her veins, which was now cooling.

She truly was going to be different. She would find herself eventually but for the near future she would be different.

I've learned to do so many things since I met Bella, even over the past few days, but the hardest thing you'll ever learn is how to say goodbye.

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	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note - Hello everyone and thank you for continuing to read Undying Love.  
I would like to apologise for the incredibly long wait! In fact it was such a long wait that even I had to read through my story again! So I hope you forgive me and enjoy this chapter. Please review!**

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*Bella's POV*

The pain was stunning.

That was it. The pain stunned me. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, and it was certainly something I didn't want to feel for another second. It felt like I had a hot iron pressed to every inch of my body, and there was nothing I could do to take it off.

I wanted to move, to try and find a way to stop the burning, but I felt so heavy that I couldn't even twitch my fingers.

Through the haze of the pain, memories that seemed very far away crept into my mind. Voices that were vaguely familiar to me echoed in my head, and only one word seemed to make itself present. Morphine.

It was in that second that I realised it must have been the morphine that pinned me down to the table. I was paralysed to the counter and couldn't move a single part of my body. I was locked inside my mind without a single connection to my physical body except for the excruciating pain, an attachment I would rather not have.

No! I didn't want to stay still and take the pain. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell them to kill me. I couldn't imagine living through another minute, another second of this agonising torture that couldn't be worth anything in this life.

The burning, the agonizing fire that seemed to overwhelm me was all I could feel. It was like I had been drenched in gasoline and a lit match had been thrown on me. Red was all I could see behind my eyes, though I could not open them.

A thought that had me yearning even more for death was the realisation that I would have to endure it. Without being able to communicate, how could I wish for death?

I don't know how long I laid there, still, lifeless. I felt as if I should have been burnt to ashes by now. A slight pressure on my hand, which felt neither hot nor cold due to the blaze, made my thoughts more alert to the fact that I wasn't alone.

It was then that I thought maybe there _was_ a motivation to fight through this – to survive. Though it seemed impossible right now, maybe there was a reason that was worth this suffering.

Time was useless to try and keep up with. It could have been a year for each minute that passed for all I knew. So when three significant things happened, I'm not sure which came first.

I began to pick out voices in the room, and if I concentrated enough through the pain, I could actually hear what they were saying. My hearing was better, and their voices were silky smooth. I could hear the brush of fabric as someone crossed their legs downstairs. Someone was humming tunefully, it sounded like a croon. A heartbeat that sounded out of place…

The other thing that happened was that I was no longer pinned to the table. I didn't feel like a weight was being pressed down on me, and I knew that if I wanted to move, I could.

But I didn't, because I remembered the reasons that might be worth the agony.

Edward and my son. _Our _son.

Even now, with the flames that continually lapped at my skin, I had the hope that maybe all the pain would be worth it. And that was the reason that, as soon as I realised that I _could_move, I didn't. I knew Edward would suffer with me if he knew I was in pain, and I didn't know if I could keep up the self control I had if I moved even an inch…

I listened to the voices in the room to try and distract myself from the pain and to give some meaning to time again. I picked out Edward and Alice's voices.

"I'm sorry, Alice. Please forgive my rudeness," Edward was apologising. What had he been rude about? I wasn't listening before.

"It's okay. I know how worried you must be, but really, she'll be fine. I can see her, Edward, really I can." Alice replied, trying to soothe him.

Alice could see me? It gave me hope that there was a chance I was going to make it through this fiery torture. I was glad she was comforting him. He was worried, and there was nothing I could do to console him except impersonate a corpse.

"I just don't want her to be in pain." It sounded like Edward moaned, but the sound was muffled, even to my new ears. "If she is, I would take it for her if I could."

Definitely a good idea to remain silent; he didn't need to suffer with me. I felt a light pressure on my face, but it wasn't from a physical touch; it was light and weightless like someone's breath.

I heard a shuffle of material next to where I was laying. Before I could try and guess what the sound was, Alice spoke.

"I'm sure when Bella wakes up she'll want to be wearing something more...suitable. Go and see your son, Edward. He's very special."

Alice mentioning my son brought back memories of the beautiful boy I held…how long ago? Apart from the raging fire, a strange warmth flooded through me, which felt nice.

Then I felt a little frustrated… and jealous.

While I was here being scorched, everyone else had gotten to know my son; everyone but me. It seemed wrong that through all the pain and suffering, I would be the last know him. I knew it wasn't anyone's fault and I shouldn't feel so bitter about it, but I couldn't help being envious of my vampire family. I pictured my tiny Edward with his shimmering green eyes, smiling at me with his rose petal cheeks. I never thought there could be anyone to match or exceed Edward's beauty, so I was pleasantly shocked when I saw my son's face. I remembered considering continuing Edward's family tradition. I liked that. It was the only name that could match his beauty, very much like his father. I knew any other name just wouldn't suit him; he was definitely too special. My little baby boy, Edward Junior.

"I can't leave her," Edward stated. "Not now."

If it didn't risk my control on keeping still, I would have frowned. Edward didn't deserve to sit here, fearful and anxious. I wished he would go; he didn't need to see this.

Alice tried to reassure him again.

"Edward, she'll be fine. Trust me. Please, go and see your son."

I heard a low sigh from him—a sound that would have been too quiet for my old ears—and I felt a pair of lips slowly brush my forehead.

"Be careful," I heard him say before I heard the feather light footprints of him running gracefully downstairs. I was glad he listened to Alice.

The flames continued to smother me as I heard the rhythmic steps of Alice move closer to me.

"Okay, Bella? I'm not sure if you can hear me but I'm just going to get you changed…" For the first time in a while, Alice sounded unsure, probably due to the fact she didn't know if I could hear her.

As I expected, I no longer felt the hard tabletop behind my head, and I could feel the soft brush of fabric slide over my skin. I don't know how long had passed, but I could tell Alice was taking her time, trying to be careful. I felt the soft tug as a comb weaved through my hair.

Then something changed. The burning—no matter how impossible it seemed—doubled! It felt like the temperature gauge on the hot iron that was pressed on me suddenly got turned up to a heat I never knew existed before this.

My fingers dug into the surface below me, and I knew my restraint before was a wasted effort. I heard Alice gasp beside me and I couldn't hold the scream that bubbled out of my throat.

My arms were immediately restrained by my head, but I thrashed against them, my control gone. I heard the table splinter under my feet as I kicked at the counter.

"Alice, what happened?" Edward was shouting.

Part of me no longer cared if he saw me begging for death. This new burn was far too much to bear, and I had no restraint over how I reacted. Bloodcurdling screams escaped out of my mouth, and they did nothing to either slow or help the burning. Any hope of a reason for getting through this vanished. Surely nothing was worth this.

"I don't know!" Alice shrieked. "Her path changed; she made a decision of some sort. I had a vision of this, then suddenly she started screaming!"

"Edward, hold down her legs!" The voice sounded like Carlisle shouting. A different pair of hands held down my arms and another pair restrained my legs.

Edward… Edward…Edward… I chanted this name through my mind to remind me of a reason to stop screaming, a reason to fight. There was nothing I could do to stop the screams.

"Bella!" Carlisle commanded. I gasped and opened my eyes. It was like a red film was covering them; all I could see was the scorching colour of red fire. My eyes stung like a thousand tiny needles pressing themselves into the sockets, but I fought to keep them open, to find Edward through the fire.

I couldn't see him anywhere. Only dark shapes moved in front of my vision, and it made me dizzy to try and concentrate on them; it made the stinging in my eyes worse.

I wanted to call out to him, to say his name, but only one word escaped through the spaces between my screams.

"Burning…!" I gasped. I knew it was ridiculous. How could they help me?

"Bella, I know it hurts and it's difficult, but I need you to try and calm yourself." I think it was Carlisle talking.

_Hurts?_ I would happily take _hurt_. That word didn't cover a hundredth of what I was feeling. There was no way I could try to begin to calm myself. What was the point?

For the fraction of a second my body was free and my legs crashed onto the table, I heard a crack through my cries. My arms and legs were restrained again but my torso still thrashed.

I tried to concentrate on the sound of Edward's voice.

"Bella, love, I know you're in pain—no that doesn't even cover it, but you need to try and stop struggling. Otherwise you're going to hurt yourself more."

"It's _burning_! _Please_, stop the fire!" I screamed. I searched for him again, seeing nothing. With all the restraint I had left, I didn't let myself ask for them to kill me, though that idea seemed pretty good right now. This pain was too much to live through.

"I know, love, I know. Please, just _try_." Edward begged.

I didn't know why, or how, through the torture, but I knew I had to fight this . . . for Edward. I scrunched up my eyes and tried to become a statue again. I locked all of my joints together, and I was no longer thrashing my legs and arms around. I put all my energy through the table and I heard the little cracks form on the surface.

I couldn't do anything about the screams.

The pressure from the hands on my body left, and I could only feel the comforting arms of Edward around me, pulling me closer to his chest. I turned my face into his t-shirt to try and smother my cries, although it didn't work.

The pain didn't ease, but I grew accustomed to it. It was not that the agony became easier, I just learned that the pain wasn't eased by screaming; it was purely a reaction. All I could do now was tolerate it.

I understood now that I was far into the change, and that my mind was more vampire than human. I was able to think of more than I was able to before at one time.

It was effortless, natural. I don't know why it wasn't this easy in my human life.

My thoughts that weren't consumed by the flames were always around Edward and EJ. My memories of him were mixed with confusion and pain, but I remember him being beautiful. Thinking back, that part was going to be obvious; of course he was going to be beautiful.

My head rested on Edward's chest, so I made the time pass by counting each breath he took. Edward never left my side, and he always spoke comforting words to me, telling me how he loved me, saying how he was sorry over and over. Sometimes he spoke of EJ, but not enough to fulfil my curiosity about him.

I knew Edward was suffering with me. Every time I let out a scream or a whimper or echoed the word "burning" or "fire" his voice shook and he held me closer to him, apologising. I knew the right thing to do was for him to leave this room, to be with EJ, to not suffer, but I was too selfish and wanted him here with me. Edward was what kept me mostly sane; he was my physical proof that there was a happy ending to all of this.

_Hope _is what kept me going, and what stopped me from begging them to kill me.

Although, hope is the biggest lie there is, and it is the best. We have to keep going as if it all mattered, or else we wouldn't keep going at all.

Very slowly, the pain drifted. My fingertips no longer burned, and neither did my toes. It was about the time that the whole of my hand became free of the fire that Edward muttered something about it being over soon. It sounded like he was talking to himself. He kissed my forehead again then.

Agonizingly slowly, the pain subsided more, or I should say _moved_. It eventually vanished from my arms, my shoulders, and my legs. But the pain moved to my torso, where it got hotter and hotter. My heartbeat quickened its pace.

"Bella?" Edward asked anxiously, hearing the change in my heartbeat. His voice sounded pained.

"Edward!" I gasped. The fire got hotter, concentrating on my heart. My heartbeat sped, and it felt like it would burst out of my chest. I squeezed my eyes tighter together.

"Carlisle!" Edward called, probably louder than was necessary. Immediately I heard the rush of footsteps up the stairs and the sound of the door opening.

"Ah," Carlisle sighed. "It's almost over."

It was almost over? How much longer was _almost?_

I heard Edward sigh in relief in response to Carlisle's words, or thoughts.

"Bella . . ." Edward stroked my hair and held me slightly tighter to his chest. "It's nearly over Bella, it's nearly over. I love you." For the first time in what seemed like forever, he sounded hopeful. Hopeful that this pain wasn't going to let me suffer for much longer, wasn't going to let _him_ suffer any longer in the knowledge that I was in pain, although that word didn't even cover it.

"Shall I get the others?" It was Carlisle who was speaking.

"Yes… and yes, leave Rosalie with him," Edward said, answering both Carlisle's question and thoughts. He shifted me slightly so I was sitting more upright, still cradled to his chest. I was in too much pain to try and decipher what Edward meant about Rosalie.

The footsteps of the others quickly flooded up the stairs, Alice ahead of them.

"Not long at all!" Alice sang. I didn't want to open my eyes, to see the pain in Edward's face.

My heartbeat—impossibly—went faster. It felt like helicopter blades were spinning around in my chest, so fast my heart beat was almost a single, prolonged humming noise. The heat got hotter and hotter as it pinpointed itself in my heart alone, all the burning throughout my body concentrated into one organ.

I screamed again and clutched myself tighter to Edward, clawing at his marble skin. I gasped and my back arched on the table, over Edward's arm, which was wrapped around me. The helicopter blades seemed to drag me upwards by my heart. I slumped in Edwards's arms again as the fire concentrated on a tiny section of my heart, taking away the last human thing I had.

The fire got smaller and smaller, and my heartbeat slowed until it was only a beat every five seconds, getting slower and slower.

My heart skipped a beat and then gave up with a low _gu-lump._

It was silent in the room around me, no one breathing, not even me.

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